"I’ve got to turn around and go back and dig in to make it better for others."In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, I speak with Dr. Tracey Vogel, an obstetric anesthesiologist from Pittsburgh who specializes in preventing birth trauma and re-traumatization during birth for people with abuse histories. As part of this care, Dr. Vogel mentors peop…

* Recorded October 2019 *In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio I am honored to speak with Sabia Wade, a Black, queer, full-spectrum doula in San Diego. She is the owner of Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings, and Executive Director of For The Village, a reproductive justice non-profit providing free doula services to low-income and marginalized grou…

As I celebrated my birthday this month, I realized I had never really talked to my mother about my own birth story. Join me in reliving that experience with my mom, Michelle Pascucci, as she recalls what it was like to give birth - and feed a newborn - in 1979. While she had a great experience with childbirth education, there were times in the hosp…

We are really in the midst of some major disruption for birthing families, in an already fragile healthcare system. In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, I called on two seasoned doulas and members of the Birth Monopoly "Know Your Rights" community to provide a grounded and strategic perspective for the families who need it most.Miri Halliday of …

Melissa Pizzo has had four babies by Cesarean, and four completely different experiences! With her last birth, a scheduled Cesarean, she knew what she wanted and she made sure she got it. That included hiring a doula to hold emotional space for her and her husband in the OR. How ever babies are born, it's a special and sacred time, and one where th…

Advocacy, burnout, self care, sustainability, and the patriarchy--they're all in this episode! Our guest is Nickie Tilsner, the co-executive director and lead trainer of Cornerstone Doula Trainings, and co-author of RE:BIRTH - The childbirth preparation guide for all people to have an informed, dignified and joyful birth in any setting (due for rel…

**TW: Alleged Sexual Assault and Birth Assault**This is Katherine DiPaulo's story. She alleges she was sexually assaulted by an obstetrician at a Philadelphia-area hospital in 2005. She has not been able to hold him accountable.Ms. DiPaulo would like to connect with other victims. If you have experienced sexual assault in your obstetric care in the…

What do you do when someone in your life has a stillbirth? In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, Ada Johnson talks about losing her baby Button during birth and the aftermath of that event, and, along with her midwife Sarah, shares how providers and others can respond sensitively when someone experiences a stillbirth. I want to thank both Ada and…

Janelle Hanchett is the author of “I’m Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Recklessness, Rehab, and Renegade Mothering,” out in paperback May 7, 2019. In this episode, we talk about the politics of motherhood and why the idea that controlling our bodies in birth is controversial. Janelle also talks about 'how I discovered I am white' (her excellent …

Marissa Hoechstetter is one of more than 17 women currently suing Columbia University and its associated hospitals for a 20-year "massive coverup" of Ob/Gyn Dr. Robert Hadden's sexual abuse of patients. In this episode, she talks about her long path to justice for the sexual assaults she suffered at Dr. Hadden's hands, getting his name off her daug…

In a town with one hospital and two doctors, Amy Woods describes her labor and subsequent surgery without pain medication. She also talks about the effects on her and her family afterwards and the hospital's response to the incident."The doctor said I had to have a c-section because I wasn't progressing. They were kind of, a little messy with the r…

Alabama doula Kirsten Clark talks about an intense experience watching obstetric violence happen right in front of her, and how her practice has evolved as a result.* TRIGGER WARNING FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND OBSTETRIC VIOLENCE *The doctor walked in, put on gloves, and stuck both hands into the laboring mom’s vagina. There was no consent. He didn’t te…

In this emotional episode, Jennifer Smith describes having a Cesarean without consent after medical staff ignored her decision to have a vaginal birth rather than repeat surgery, and her trauma afterwards."I'm numb from the waist down and I have no idea what they're doing to my lower body. I'm just this object lying on a table for them to cut up. A…

WARNING: This story includes graphic detail and may be difficult to listen to.Part 2 of 2:In this stomach-churning episode, nurse "Britany" describes witnessing what she describes as a violation and assault on a laboring woman: a so-called "manual episiotomy" by the doctor--a move she discovered was routine for him.Find out what happened when she t…

WARNING: This story includes graphic detail and may be difficult to listen to.Part 1 of 2: In this stomach-churning episode, nurse "Britany" describes witnessing what she describes as a violation and assault on a laboring woman: a so-called "manual episiotomy" by the doctor--a move she discovered was routine for him.Find out what happened when she …

Sara Conrad worked in the marketing department at the hospital where she gave birth in Northern California. The last thing she expected was to have a life-changing trauma there.“I love doing C-sections, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get one.”Sara immediately felt unsupported when a doctor she’d never met responded to her birth plan by telli…

Kimberly Turbin made headlines and history when she sued her doctor for assault when he gave her a medically unnecessary and botched episiotomy during the birth of her child. The case was resolved in 2017, but Kimberly is still dealing with the effects of the assault. In this episode, Kimberly recounts not only her experience, but the aftermath of …

Trying to find support for a vaginal birth after a c-section (VBAC) can be a struggle; when you are black, overweight, on Medicaid, and in Alabama, it can be almost impossible. Our guest Sabrina Azemar recounts her difficulties convincing her maternal care providers to "let" her do what pregnant bodies have been doing for centuries.Sabrina is the m…

Normal, healthy births happen every day, and for women of every size. And yet birth care professionals often alienate plus-size moms-to-be with shaming, inadequate equipment, and mistreatment. In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, we talk about plus size birth and how to find a practitioner who will treat you like a person, not a risk factor. My …

During pregnancy and birth, trauma can happen. Dr. Tracey Vogel, an OB anesthesiologist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania talks to us about the stories of such traumas – especially those related to anesthesia and surgery – that she will be featuring in her upcoming book, and how the medical community can help prevent further birth trauma.> “There is a …

MOTHER MAY I SERIES - http://bit.ly/consentmovieRebecca Dekker, a nurse, teacher, PhD researcher, and founder of Evidence Based Birth®, talks with us about the hierarchy of oppression that exists in maternity care, and how that oppression relates to birth (especially doula) work and advocacy.You can learn more about Rebecca’s work at www.evidenceba…

There have been a lot of changes to how midwives can practice in Maryland – what was once a felony is now a regulated practice. Yet, it isn’t necessarily easier for parents or midwives now that it's "legal" to give birth at home with a professional midwife. In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, we talk with a midwife who has been practicing for 3…

In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, we talk about obstetric violence, aggressive court orders, and the special trauma of early separation. My special guest is Lindsay Askins, a birth doula and birth photographer, and my partner in Exposing the Silence, a photography and interview project about birth trauma and obstetric violence. www.exposingth…

In this episode, we talk about the world of pregnancy, breastfeeding, and marijuana use. To help make sense of this topic – and sort the science from the pearl-clutching - I brought in a special guest: Heather Thompson, PhD. Heather discusses the research and helps make it relevant to worried moms and birth workers.Heather has a doctorate in molecu…

In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, we talk about what it means to say no to a procedure in the delivery room, when and if implied consent overrides refusal, and who is the boss of your body. Spoiler alert: it’s you.This podcast is an extension of a recent article Birth Monopoly article. You can check it out here. http://birthmonopoly.com/impli…

In this episode, Cristen speaks with Gena Kirby, doula trainer extraordinaire, about her remarkable success at getting dads and partners involved in birth, mommy brain/birth brain, and how to survive a zombie apocalypse. This is a must-listen for doulas!Av Birth Allowed

In this episode, Cristen speaks with Kesha Chiappinelli, an Arkansas lawyer who represents consumers working for better midwifery regulations. Right now, for example, the law requires a number of vaginal exams for home birth midwifery clients--something Ms. Chiappinelli describes as "state-sanctioned rape." (The regulations are similar to what is d…

In this episode, Cristen speaks with Traci Weafer, a Southern doula who believes that speaking up for laboring women and having great relationships with hospital staff are not mutually exclusive. As an example, she shares about the time she stopped a doctor from cutting her client when he started to do an episiotomy without consent.…

In this episode, Cristen speaks with Caroline Malatesta, the Alabama mother who won a lawsuit against her hospital after she was permanently injured in a "wrestling match" with her nurses during childbirth--in a place that promised support for unmedicated birth. One piece of Caroline's journey that she has not spoken about publicly before is how, i…

In this episode, Cristen speaks with an experienced Labor & Delivery nurse about the obstetric violence she has witnessed and even participated in ("I’ve seen doctors pry women’s legs apart with their elbows… I’ve seen doctors check people [vaginally] while the women were saying, ‘no,’ ..."). She also talks about advocating to change a patriarchal …

In this episode, Cristen speaks with "J," an Indiana mother who recorded the meeting with her hospital about a non-consented procedure during labor that the hospital defended as "appropriate" and "part of" routine care. We'll hear the recording of the meeting, as well as the professional opinions of respected legal and medical experts on why the ho…

In this episode, Cristen speaks with Zawn Villines, lead organizer of the community effort to push back on Dekalb Medical's policies involving childbirth options and rights and their decision to push out a midwifery practice and doctor known for respecting patient decisions. Katie Kissel, a local mother, shares her surprise at discovering that the …

In this episode, Cristen speaks with an obstetrician who saw her practice's Cesarean rates drop after they implemented a feminist model--putting women in charge of their own medical decisions. She also discusses her own job-related trauma and medicine's blame culture.Av Birth Allowed

In this episode, Cristen speaks with an Alabama doula about how her clients are treated in a maternity care system that is improving slowly, but still characterized by paternalism and a resistance to change. **TRIGGER WARNING** for description of assault of a laboring womanAv Birth Allowed

In this episode, perhaps the most experienced midwifery law lawyer in the U.S. talks about why midwives need lawyers, as well as the David vs. Goliath struggles of families fighting hospital and medical lobbies for the right to maternity care outside of hospitals. BONUS: That time she was one of the first women lawyers to argue (and win!) a case be…

In this episode, a doula based out of New York City talks about the abuse she experiences and witnesses as she supports clients during childbirth.Av Birth Allowed

In this episode, Lexington, KY, couple Helen & Kris Nonn describe the home birth of their son, born "illegally" with Certified Professional Midwives, and talk about why they made that choice for his birth.Av Birth Allowed

In this episode, Cristen talks with Mary Carol Akers, a certified nurse midwife who has been fighting local hospitals for years to open an independent birth center in Kentucky; Mary Kathryn Delodder, the head of the consumer coalition working to legalize out-of-hospital midwifery in Kentucky; and a Central Kentucky couple who was turned away from t…