I remember distinctly when The Business of Being Born, the documentary produced by famed talk show host Ricki Lake, was released. It was 2007 and she had just had her first child. She was disheartened by her birth experience. I was a...
New moms, you’re not failing. The system is failing you.
by Maya Uppaluru Sleep deprived, irritated, and dehydrated from nursing on demand, I sat in a crowded and noisy pediatrician waiting room and filled out the standard postpartum mental health screening survey, the Edinburgh Scale. I had received the...
Art, Activism, and Midwifery: A conversation with Laura Godfrey-Isaacs
I first started following Laura Godfrey-Isaacs on Twitter a few months ago, when she was starting conversations about gender language and inclusivity in birth work. Laura is a midwife, artist, and activist and brings this rich background together to...
Supporting families in the workplace
By Margaret Ben-Or There are many unwritten rules about the “right way” to start and raise a family in the United States. Having a job that offers health insurance and family leave benefits is one of them. Having a family costs money. It’s not...
Just Breathe: the story of a growing family in America – part 3
This is the third part of Kinjal Vasavada’s three-part photo essay following her medical school buddy, Adriana, through her pregnancy. Catch up on part 1 and part 2. Content Warning: mental health & substance abuse topics discussed Food...
On working towards reproductive justice
By Gwendolyn Wallace Content warning: police violence Recently, mainstream media has been paying more attention to and initiating conversations about the dizzying maternal mortality rates for women of color. While it is important to reduce maternal...
Just Breathe: The story of a growing family in America – part 2
This is the second part of Kinjal Vasavada’s three-part photo essay following her medical school buddy, Adriana, through her pregnancy. Find the first part of her photo essay here. Content Warning: mental health & substance abuse topics...
“Everything starts with birth”: a conversation with Accompany Doula Care
In October, I had the opportunity to meet a few of the women working at Accompany Doula Care, an independent doula agency based in Massachusetts. In addition to providing culturally and linguistically appropriate care to birthing people and working...
Dar a Luz Birth Center: a conversation with Abigail Lanin Eaves
In 2016, Dr. Shah traveled to Albuquerque with MASS Design Group to visit Dar a Luz, a freestanding birth center that has been operating since 2008. This visit was part of a larger body of work supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation...
I’m an OB/GYN who attended thousands of deliveries before wondering why Americans give birth in bed
Each year approximately 20,000 Americans choose to give birth out of bed, which usually requires giving birth out of hospitals. According to the CDC, centers like Dar a Luz have become 83% more popular over the last decade. Yet millions of Americans...