How can midwifery truly be made accessible to communities of color?

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Right as 2011 was wrapping up two articles were posted about home birth and midwifery revivals in communities of color. Having written about the question of race in the home birth movement back in 2009 for RH Reality Check in these two articles, I’m excited when new outlets pick up the story. There is much movement in this arena, and also much more than can be done to make sure US midwifery is accessible to people of color.

In New America Media, Valeria Fernandez writes about efforts to revive Mexican midwifery in Arizona:

Marinah Valenzuela Farrell is one of only a few licensed midwives in Arizona. Though it isn’t a profitable venture, helping mothers bring their newborn children into this world is for Farrell a calling deeply rooted in her native Mexican tradition.

“It is really hard to be a midwife,” said the 41-year-old. “You don’t sleep, and you don’t make money. People think you’re crazy because you’re doing homebirths.”

A majority of Farrell’s clients are middle class and white, though as a Latina she aims to make midwifery accessible to low-income women in dire need of prenatal services but too afraid to seek them out in a state virulently hostile to undocumented immigrants.

“I think they don’t know that we exist,” she said. “I think the more the community knows that there’s a midwife who will come and visit them at home and do a homebirth… [attitudes] will change and shift.”

I spoke to the author while she was working on the piece, and a quote of mine is included toward the end.

In The Grio, Chika Oduah writes about black women and home birth. The article includes a video, which is a good primer of the issues at hand with home birth. It also references my Colorlines article about the possible connection between maternal health in communities of color and access to midwifery care.

What is clear from the research about this issue is that women of color are less likely to receive midwifery care, and that disparity is larger than the population numbers would suggest. I think this dynamic is complicated by global sociopolitical historical factors. For example I experienced resistance from Latina immigrant women to midwifery care because of the stigma toward parteras (midwives) in their home countries. In many places in Latin America, midwives and home birth are seen as the option used by women who can’t afford to go to hospital for birth–basically an option only for those who have no other option.

That creates class and race stigma on home birth and midwifery care.

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Victories to celebrate from 2011

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Just a quick note to say Happy New Year to all of you. Thanks for reading, emailing and generally making running this site a pleasure.

I’m excited for 2012, during which I’ll hit my fifth anniversary of running this blog. I’ve got a bunch of exciting projects in the works to celebrate that milestone, so stay tuned!

In an effort to focus on the wins of the past year, rather than the many struggles and disappointments, here is a quick run down of things to celebrate from 2011:

This is a recent one from NAPW that I didn’t get a chance to blog, but in partnership with organizations working in the Native community, they recently were able to get a tribal court to drop charges against a pregnant woman whose child died shortly after birth.

Midwife Robin Lim wins an amazing award from CNN in honor of her work with pregnant women in Bali.

ACOG puts out a statement in support of treating trans patients with care and sensitivity.

The personhood amendment fails in Mississippi.

A new abortion doula project in SF!

The word doula gets entered into the Oxford English Dictionary.

Vermont mandates insurance coverage for licensed midwives.

Midwives in Colorado get a better law allowing them to improve their care.

And of course, last but not least, all of the incredible radical doulas featured here.

Here’s to even more successes in 2012!

Got a few dollars to spare for The Doula Project?

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An organization near and dear to my heart is doing it’s first big end of the year fundraising push. The Doula Project, a group I helped to found, which provides full spectrum doula care to people around New York City.

I know I’m biased, since I’ve been involved since the beginning, but I think the Doula Project is really rad.

First of all, it’s mission is pretty amazing: provide volunteer doula care to people across the spectrum of pregnancy: from abortions and miscarriages to adoptions and births. All of it is done at no cost to the pregnant person–it’s a volunteer operation that is now a 501-C3 (hence the fundraiser!).

I’ve chronicled some of my experiences working with the project in my Abortion Doula Diaries series. In short I think it’s pretty rad, and has helped spark a national movement of similar organizations around the country providing this type of comprehensive doula support.

Some official language from the project:

We are a volunteer led and run non-profit organization offering free doula care to women across the full spectrum of pregnancy options. The Doula Project works to connect the choices, needs, and experiences of people across this spectrum and to provide on-site support for our clients no matter what their choices may be. Since 2008, our 50 trained abortion and birth doulas have provided physical, emotional, and informational support to more than 5,000 women in New York City who have faced birth, abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth induction, and adoption.

5,000 people! That’s incredible.

If you’re feeling generous, your support would be appreciated. Funds will go to expanding services to serve more people, as well as further training and expansion of this really amazing model. Donate here.

Midwife Robin Lim honored with 2011 CNN Hero Award

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Vodpod videos no longer available.

I hadn’t followed this competition, but was excited to learn that the winner of this award, which comes with $300,000 for her cause.

About Robin:

Robin Lim, an American woman who has helped thousands of poor Indonesian women have a healthy pregnancy and birth, was named the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year on Sunday night.

Through her Yayasan Bumi Sehat health clinics, “Mother Robin,” or “Ibu Robin” as she is called by the locals, offers free prenatal care, birthing services and medical aid in Indonesia, where many families cannot afford care.

After reading about Robin and her work, I realized that her clinic sounded familiar. They are listed on my Volunteer Doula Program page! A friend of the clinics posted in comments a few years ago about their work, suggesting I add them to my list.

So glad to see their impact is being honored, and on such a mainstream platform. It’s also lovely to see a birth activist and woman of color honored for her work.

Learn more about her clinic here. They even have a birth doula workshop for interested doulas in Indonesia!

Exhale: Abortion doulas and providing non-judgmental support

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I wrote an article for the new Exhale website about the awesome work of abortion doulas. Exhale is an organization whose mission I believe connects closely to what we do as abortion doulas: providing support to all people who’ve had abortions, without judgement.

About Exhale:

Exhale creates a social climate where each person’s unique experience with abortion is supported, respected, and free from stigma. Exhale provides services, training, and education to empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve post-abortion health and wellbeing.

In the article I talk about how I became a doula, how I made the connection to abortion work and why I started this blog.

My job as an activist – whether for abortion, reproductive justice or birth, is to make sure people have as many options as possible, and my job as a doula is to make sure they get the emotional support they need along the way. It was time to bring these two passions of mine together in a way that could improve the lives of pregnant women. I started a blog and started calling myself a radical doula.

I also interviewed a few doulas who have been involved with Exhale’s work.

There are a lot of assumptions about the personal experience of abortion, but what an abortion doula will tell you, though, is that no two people’s experiences are alike. Emotional responses vary widely. Laura shared,

“Being pregnant is significant, however a person a politically identifies or however she acknowledges the process. We’re not trying to be behind the politics of it. Her voice, her experience gets validated on her terms.”

Read the rest of the article here.

ACOG issues statement urging OB-GYNs to treat transgender patients

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This may just be the only time I praise ACOG. I’m not a huge fan of the way they treat midwifery care and home birth, but this is good news for trans health. From my post at Feministing:

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has come out with a new statement for their members: it’s time to prepare to work with transgender patients.

“To address the significant health care disparities of transgender individuals and to improve their access to care, ob-gyns should prepare to provide routine treatment and screening or refer them to other physicians, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College). In a Committee Opinion published today, The College also states its opposition to gender identity discrimination and supports both public and private health insurance coverage for gender identity disorder treatment.”

Their statement specifically addresses the gynecological needs of transgender men, who may still require cervical and breast cancer screenings, as well as other gynecological (and even obstetric) care.

“We need to make our offices settings that treat all patients with respect,” said Dr. Buyers. The College offers ob-gyns suggestions on how to create an office environment that is welcoming to transgender patients. For instance, asking patients their preferred name and pronoun, posting non-discrimination policies, ensuring confidentiality, and offering sensitivity training for staff are all steps that signal acceptance and let patients know that they will be treated with dignity. “We want the transgender community to know that we, as ob-gyns, care about their health.”

I hope that their members follow this important advice.

While not a widely addressed topic, folks in the birth activist community are starting to address the needs of trans and gender non-conforming people in health care. The fact that ACOG has gotten on board shows just how far we’ve come. The advice ACOG provides for their members applies to us as doulas as well, and we’d go far by simply implementing some of their recommendations also.

Radical Doula Profiles: gracie janove

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gracie on a beach wearing purpleThis is a series highlighting folks who identify as Radical Doulas. Are you interested in being part of the series? Email me.

About gracie:

gracie janove is an acupressurist, photographer, writer, sociologist, pro-choice feminist and radical doula. She is proud to offer doula support for all pregnancy options including birth, abortion and adoption as well as care for all families and pregnant people. She recently helped organize the Bay Area Radical Reproductive Workers Alliance. Aside from birth work, she is dedicated to empowering youth through teaching media literacy. She currently resides in the SF Bay Area. Contact her at BirthBeautifullMoments@gmail.com.

Why do you identify with the term radical doula?

I work with individuals (and families), yet I am committed to creating lasting systemic change in the reproductive health world. I envision a society where all people have all the health care and support they need, and where they don’t need money to get it. This means safe abortion access, midwifery services, any other form of health care. Currently, women in prison, homeless women, queer women and trans people are especially marginalized groups that need access to these services. I’m working towards a world where informed consent and empowered choice are the norm.

What is your doula philosophy and how does it fit into your broader political beliefs?
“In white supremacist capitalist patriarchal Western culture neocolonial thinking sets the tone for many cultural practices.” -bell hooks

I want to inhabit a world where the choices that impact the communities in which we live are made collectively and democratically. People deserve agency over if they want to, when they want to, and how they want to give birth. I provide unconditional support for pregnant persons and every choice they make, because I believe they know best. So many parts of our culture work against women, and as a doula I am there to bestow compassion and support to all involved. One way the culture misguides us is through the use of mainstream media, an inescapable force that is great at playing on our emotions. I’m interested in examining the media’s role in forming people’s lived experiences of childbirth. Someday, I’d like to launch a media campaign with other reproductive justice workers to help reconstruct the way people perceive and experience birth.

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Anti-shackling policy and organizing training this weekend in Amherst, MA

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Just saw notice about this training happening this weekend in Amherst Massachussetts. Sounds incredible, definitely worth going to if you’re in the area and care about stopping the practice of shackling incarcerated pregnant women.

Join The Prison Birth Project, The Peace Development Fund & WORTH for A Training on Anti-Shackling Policy and Organizing

A day long training to start to mobilize an on the ground movement to support current Anti-shackling legislation. Learn about legislation that PBP is working on, the current political climate and how to organize from a grassroots to a statewide level from organizers who have passed this legislation in other states. Help strategize and build the campaign to pass legislation that supports women everywhere.

Trainers will include: Tina Reynolds from Women on the Rise Telling Her Story (WORTH) who have worked/passed Antishackling in other states. Members of The Prison Birth Project as well as members of the ACLU and a local lobbyists.

Saturday December 3, 2011
10am-3:30pm
Peace Development Fund
44 N. Prospect St. Amherst

RSVP to: volunteer@theprisonbirthproject.org with RSVP as the subject.

Childcare provided with RSVP please let us know in the email how many children and ages.

They also provided this additional information about their efforts:

More than 8,000 women are incarcerated each year in Mass. 85% of those women are mothers and about 6% of them are pregnant during their incarceration.

The Prison Birth Project provides support education and advocacy with women and girls at this intersection of incarceration and motherhood. This year our members had a say in the writing of HB 2234 “An Act Relative to Safe Pregnancies and Relate Health Care for Female Inmates”. This bill has been introduced in an effort to provide minimum standards of care for women while incarcerated. It would ensure that pregnant women would not be restrained during labor and pregnancy and receive basic prenatal care and family planning information. Can’t make it? but want to be a part of the coalition to pass this legislation? Email volunteer@theprisonbirthproject.org and let us know!

For more about the anti-shackling efforts in MA, check out my recent article for Colorlines.

Update: Mississippi Personhood initiative fails

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Update: It failed! Big victory for health and autonomy. Also proof that even those with more moderate or conservative politics are skeptical of such far reaching legislation. The fight is far from over though, as these efforts are bound to continue.

It’s a scary time for women’s health and autonomy. The political movement to limit access to abortion, as well as pregnant people’s rights to make decisions about their bodies and medical choices, is stronger than ever.

In the absence of any strategies to address the actual problems plaguing our economy (unemployment, for example) the ultra right wing in control of many of our state governments (and the House of Reps too) have decided to focus instead on debilitating budget cuts and bills that damage women and pregnant people’s health and human rights.

As I’ve said over and over on this blog–bills that limit access to abortion also limit the choices of pregnant people who want to parent. NAPW has a video explaining exactly what is at stake with Prop 26:

Irin Carmon, reporting for Salon, wrote about how this initiative would limit access to even birth control. These efforts are serious, and want to turn back the clock on reproductive health almost fifty years. All of these extreme efforts are poised to take judicial challenges all the way to the Supreme Court.

The vote on the initiative could go either way, which is even more frightening. Polling shows voters split evenly.

If you’re in Mississippi, please make it out to the polls tomorrow and vote NO on 26. This is serious.

Women’s Media Center Social Media Award

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The Women’s Media Center has a new award this year, for an outstanding woman in social media. I’m not sure how the nomination list was created, but I’m on it!

It’s an honor to be showcased next to so many amazing women who are working online to change the world. Seriously, if nothing else, it’s an incredible list of women in feminist media.

If you’re so inclined, you can also vote for one of the nominees, who will be given the award at the end of November.