PURPOSE:
To explore how a simulation-based educational program, co-designed and implemented by the student-led initiative Matronas Comunitarias (MCUCH) from the University of Chile in collaboration with Gendarmería de Chile, promotes mutual learning, professional development, and critical reflection among midwifery students and prison officers in the context of imminent birth response for incarcerated women.

DISCUSSION:
Incarcerated women face significant barriers to timely intrapartum care, and prison officers are often unprepared to respond effectively to imminent births occurring outside regular clinical settings. Participatory training was developed to address this critical gap, combining theoretical instruction, real-case discussions, and high-fidelity hybrid simulation. Implemented with workers and officers from two female penitentiary centers in Santiago, the program equipped both with key skills to recognize signs of imminent labor, provide basic and safe support during emergency deliveries, and activate timely transfer protocols. For midwifery students, the project was a transformative educational experience, enhancing their clinical and communication competencies and their engagement with reproductive rights and intersectoral work.

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Post-training evaluations (n=20 officers, n=5 students) demonstrated increased confidence, knowledge, and critical awareness regarding intrapartum emergencies in prison settings. Officers valued the straightforward, scenario-based training approach. Students from Matronas Comunitarias (MCUCH) highlighted the program’s impact on their professional identity and understanding of equity-driven care in complex institutional environments.

KEY MESSAGE:
This initiative shows how student-led, simulation-based training can build emergency readiness among non-clinical personnel and strengthen equity-focused midwifery education through direct engagement with underserved populations. Aligned with the ICM Congress theme of respectful and inclusive maternity care, this initiative offers a replicable model that merges experiential learning, social accountability, and intersectoral collaboration in emergency birth response education and the opportunity to allow midwifery students to learn through projects. Poster session 3 (Group B)