Month: May 2007

Kick-Ass Radical Doulas, 2nd Edition: Birth Companions Organisation

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Sound familiar? Similar to the BirthPartners (see my first edition of kick-ass radical doulas), another group in London is also providing support to women giving birth in prison. The organization, Birth Companions Organisation (BCO),

Birth Companions is a small charity providing practical and emotional support to women who face giving birth whilst in detention. Birth Companions provides trained and experienced birth supporters who support pregnant women in detention, during labour and after the birth of their babies. We work mainly in Holloway prison although we are now expanding to provide support in the community to pregnant asylum seekers/refugees who have been released from detention. We provide support to women who would not otherwise have anyone to accompany them during the birth of their baby. We also offer our support to women who are unsure whether their family or friend will be able to get to them in time to be with them during their labour.

So amazing and radical. Oh, and here’s more:

We do not discriminate against a mother in prison on grounds of race, culture, religious belief, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, any social or behavioural disability, or on grounds of any offence she has committed or is alleged to have committed.

This organization has supported over 200 women in the last nine years, and interestingly enough, a quarter of the women in prisons in London are foreigners. We need more groups like these.

Check out their website for more information.

Midwifery/doula news round-up

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Some great math to explain why homebirth midwives are more economically viable.

A synopsis of some of the changes in childbirth and parenting over the last few decades.

Limited birth options in San Francisco, where one woman’s insurance forces her to have a c-section.

Citypaper article about the potential crisis for maternity care in Philadelphia.

Video about doulas in Texas.

Cost of birth control skyrockets on college campuses due to a change in Medicaid law.

An exerpt on Huffington Post from Jessica Valenti’s (Feministing.com) new book, Full Frontal Feminism, where she talks about definitions of motherhood, including how women are being limited by increasing numbers of c-sections.