Last month, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Bettina Paek, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and CEO of eDoula, an app that combines labor support content and increased access to tele doulas to support birthing people and...
Working Parents During a Pandemic: A Call to Action for High Quality Childcare and Paid Leave Policies
By: Yara Altaher When COVID-19 stay-at-home orders began in late March, I was about to start a new job while finishing my graduate degree and thought it would be just a few weeks before going into the office to meet my new co-workers. I imagine many...
Building Better Birth Stories: a conversation with Hilary Simpson
In late August, I spoke with Hilary Simpson, a nurse working in maternal health in Reno, Nevada, to learn about her impactful project: Building Better Birth Stories. Her project underscores the importance of documenting childbirth narratives to...
Caring for Patients with Limited English Proficiency: The Perspective of a Bangladeshi Asylee Studying in the U.S.
By Sirajum Sandhi My head was buried in integrals during high school calculus class when I felt my cell phone vibrate in my back pocket. I glanced to find the words Social Worker flash across the screen, setting my heart pounding in my ears. I...
Childbirth education and shared decision making: a conversation with Dr. Jennifer Vanderlaan
In June, Sirajum, Expecting More’s intern, and I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Jennifer Vanderlaan, a PhD trained nurse practitioner and midwife who currently serves as the chair of the Lamaze International Research Workgroup. Our...
#notonmywatch: a conversation with Rose Horton
Earlier this month, Jocie and I had the opportunity to interview Rose Horton, a nurse leader working in maternal health at Emory Decatur Hospital. I met Rose during a convening organized by Cities Challenge, a project within our Delivery Initiative...
Promoting shared decision-making and transparency for birthing people during COVID-19
By Michele Kulhanek I was 18 about to give birth to my firstborn and scared to death. No one took the time to explain what was happening to me that day. There must have been twenty people in and out of the room, mostly residents who were there to...
2020 March for Moms and Advocacy week
Monday May 4th was the fourth annual March for Moms rally, typically hosted on the Washington Mall but instead brought to our computer screens this year. The March for Moms team assembled an amazing group of speakers including politicians...
You’re doing it wrong: a conversation with Margaret Quinlan
Earlier this year, I spoke with Margaret Quinlan, co-author of the newly released book You’re Doing it Wrong! Mothering Media and medical expertise. Margaret and her co-author Bethany Johnson explore the history of advice that pregnant people...