Podcasts about birth allowed radio

A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media. Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options. Cristen​ ​is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2020 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women's rights in birth. facebook.com/birthmonopoly instagram.com/birthomonopoly

Cristen  Pascucci and Michelle continue their conversation regarding human rights in childbirth in part two of this replay episode. They delve into the fact that everyone brings their own background, biases, and trauma with them to the birth room. Cristen sagely points out that it is irrelevant whether or not birth is safe. If anything, the riskier it is, the more imperative that is that a person's autonomy is retained. Cristen shares why the environment in which someone decides to give birth is a huge determining factor in how the birth actually unfolds. "Your rights are only as good as you make them. … You own your body and you are the legal authority. ... You don't have to point to any law. ... Don't assume someone has rights over you. Just don't make that assumption ever.  Make the assumption that you own your body and act as if you do. And, it will really change the orientation of how you approach everything including your communication with the people that are there to support you, and how you select those people, and the decisions that you make." —Cristen Pascucci About Cristen Pascucci:A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media.  Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country, and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options.  Cristen is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2020 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women's rights in birth. Connect with Cristen Pascucci:Website: https://birthmonopoly.com/Facebook:  facebook.com/birthmonopolyInstagram:instagram.com/birthmonopoly Please, if the nature of this conversation is triggering for you, stop the podcast. You can return to it later if you feel led to. Take some deep breaths, move and walk around, wash your hands and your face, take a shower, and call a trusted friend or caregiver. The meditation in episode 108 can be very helpful if your baby and you had a difficult or traumatic birth.For additional support you can connect with Cristin, Susan, or myself: Susan Dascenzi:Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sdascenziTwitter:  https://twitter.com/susandascenziInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdascenzi1/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susandascenzi/ Connect with Michelle Smith:Virtual classes with Michelle: birtheaseservices.com/birth-ease-childbirth-education, birtheasehypnobirth.com/hypnobirthing-classes-orlando-michelleFacebook:   Birth Ease,   The Birth Ease Podcast,  Birth Ease Baby Loss SupportInstagram:    @birtheasemichellesmith,  @birtheaselossssupportYouTube:    Birth EaseLinkedIn:  Birth Ease Michelle Smith

Have you ever wondered what your rights are during pregnancy and birth? Listen in to part one of this replay episode as Cristen Pascucci, founder of Birth Monopoly shares with Michelle how the experience of her son's birth provided the impetus that led her to become a leading voice for human rights in childbirth.  “There is that perception that in some situations, your consent doesn't matter. As a woman, when it comes to sex and reproduction there are some situations where you no longer own your body. Someone else has the authority over your body. That is really powerful. And that is what continually surprises me that people don't get more upset about it in the realm of childbirth. That really that people aren't taking to the streets to say, “My basic civil rights are not only violated as an individual but widely disrespected in policy and practice all across the country in hundreds of facilities.” —Cristen Pascucci About Cristen Pascucci:A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media.  Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country, and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options.  Cristen is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2020 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women's rights in birth. Connect with Cristen Pascucci:Website: https://birthmonopoly.com/Facebook:  facebook.com/birthmonopolyInstagram:instagram.com/birthmonopoly Please, if the nature of this conversation is triggering for you, stop the podcast. You can return to it later if you feel led to. Take some deep breaths, move and walk around, wash your hands and your face, take a shower, and call a trusted friend or caregiver. The meditation in episode 108 can be very helpful if your baby and you had a difficult or traumatic birth.For Additional Support you can connect with Cristin, Susan, or myself: Susan Dascenzi:Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sdascenziTwitter:  https://twitter.com/susandascenziInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdascenzi1/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susandascenzi/ Connect with Michelle Smith:Virtual classes with Michelle: birtheaseservices.com/birth-ease-childbirth-education, birtheasehypnobirth.com/hypnobirthing-classes-orlando-michelleFacebook:   Birth Ease,   The Birth Ease Podcast,  Birth Ease Baby Loss SupportInstagram:    @birtheasemichellesmith,  @birtheaselossssupportYouTube:    Birth EaseLinkedIn:  Birth Ease Michelle Smith

On today's podcast, I am excited to welcome a special guest and my friend, Cristen Pascucci of Birth Monopoly! Cristen and I talk about how to file hospital complaints when people experience mistreatment or unsafe care during childbirth.  Content warning: Obstetric violence, birth trauma, and sexual assault in obstetrics.  A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and creator of the online course, Know Your Rights: Legal and Human Rights in Childbirth for Birth Professionals and Advocates. She is also co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project and host of Birth Allowed Radio, a podcast. Cristen is a leading voice in the field of maternity care, speaking around the world and consulting privately on issues related to birth rights and birthing options. Cristen and I talk about the formal process of how one can submit a complaint to the hospital and state licensing boards if they experienced mistreatment or unsafe childbirth practices. We also talk about obstetric violence and birth trauma due to systemic barriers in childbirth care, and how more people can become involved as advocates. RESOURCES: Learn more about Cristen Pascucci and Birth Monopoly here (www.birthmonopoly.com). Check out the Complaint toolkit here: https://birthmonopoly.com/complaint  Find out about "Mother May I" the documentary here: https://mothermayithemovie.com   Follow Birth Monopoly on Facebook here (https://facebook.com/birthmonopoly). Follow Birth Monopoly on Instagram here (https://instagram.com/birthmonopoly).  Read the news report about the Annals of Internal Medicine paper about abusive behavior in the operating room here.  For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

"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 people through the process of filing complaints to hospitals about violating, traumatic, and inappropriate medical intervention. Dr. Vogel walks us through the bureaucratic structure of hospitals and how they receive and process grievances. We also discuss how people can effectively use their voice during birth in advocating for themselves, and the must-have details that you want to be captured if you are pulling together a formal written complaint. Finally, we examine the core issues at hand for many who want their traumatic experiences to be known - for the benefit of closure, and/or to prevent the mistreatment from happening to others - and managing expectations regarding the hospital’s response. Resources mentioned: Visit The Empowerment Equation (http://www.theempowermentequation.com/who-we-are.html) to learn more about Dr. Tracey Vogel and her work in trauma-informed care for obstetric patients. Click here (bit.ly/birth-rights) for all you need to know about Birth Monopoly’s “Know Your Rights - Legal and Human Rights in Childbirth” course and community. Use coupon code PODCAST to get 10% off access.

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 Spokane, WA is a birth doula and childbirth educator, and Lisa Gould Rubin of Burlington, VT is a doula, childbirth educator, and has had a virtual doula practice for over 10 years. Together we tackle the tough conversations surrounding doula access to their clients in hospitals and increased pressure on birthing families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Miri and Lisa reveal what they’re telling their families on how to prepare, what to expect at the hospital, how to cope under societal trauma, and what doulas, partners, and birthing mothers can control. “Everybody’s operating out of this place of fear and scarcity in terms of support and all of this unknown, and it is the worst thing that we want people to be feeling now that they are on the verge of having babies.” - Lisa Gould Rubin “There are going to be clients who are going to say - ‘I refuse. I’m going to have this baby in the lobby unless my doula comes with me.’” - Miri Halliday RESOURCES: Connect with Lisa Gould Rubin at thegoodbirthproject.com (http://thegoodbirthproject.com/), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodBirthProject/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/GoodBirthProject/). Follow Miri Halliday at hallidoula.com (https://www.hallidoula.com/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hallidoula) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_oaky_afterbirth/). Click here (https://birthmonopoly.com/covid-19/) for all Birth Monopoly COVID-19 resources, including the Hospital Policy Tracker for Doulas and Visitors. Click here (https://birthmonopoly.com/3-things/) for all you need to know about the updated Birth Monopoly course, “3 Things Every Parent Needs to Know About Hospital Birth.” For the latest COVID-19 research and resources from Evidence Based Birth®, including the Virtual Doula Directory, click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/covid19/).

Listen in as Cristen  Pascucci and Michelle continue their conversation regarding human rights in childbirth. They delve into the fact that everyone brings their own background, biases, and trauma with them to the birth room. Cristen sagely points out that it is irrelevant whether or not birth is safe. If anything, the riskier it is, the more imperative that is that a person's autonomy is retained. Cristen shares why the environment in which someone decides to give birth is a huge determining factor in how the birth actually unfolds."Your rights are only as good as you make them. … You own your body and you are the legal authority. ... You don't have to point to any law. ... Don't assume someone has rights over you. Just don't make that assumption ever.  Make the assumption that you own your body and act as if you do. And, it will really change the orientation of how you approach everything." —Cristen Pascucci About Cristen  Pascucci :A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media.  Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options. Cristen is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2020 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women's rights in birth. Connect with Cristen Pascucci:Website: birthmonopoly.comFacebook: Birth MonopolyInstagram: @birthmonopolyMovie Trailer: Mother May I? COVID-19 and Pregnancy Resources:BIRTH MONOPOLY: COVID-19 AND DOULA SUPPORT: HOW TO RESPOND TO CHANGING HOSPITAL POLICIESBlack Mamas Matter AllianceCoronavirus COVID-19 | Evidence Based Birth® Resource PageVBAC Facts: Offering Labor After Cesarean During COVID-19 Connect with Michelle Smith:Website: BirthEaseServices.comFacebook: Birth Ease, The Birth Ease PodcastInstagram: @ birtheasemichellesmithYouTube: Birth EaseLinkedIn: Birth Ease Michelle SmithShow: Birth Ease 

Have you ever wondered what your rights are during childbirth? Listen in to part one of this much needed conversation as Cristen Pascucci, founder of Birth Monopoly shares with Michelle how the experience of her son's birth provided the impetus that led her to become a leading voice for women giving birth. “There is that perception that in some situations, your consent doesn't matter. As a woman, when it comes to sex and reproduction there are some situations where you no longer own your body. Someone else has the authority over your body. That is really powerful. And that is what continually surprises me that people don't get more upset about it in the realm of childbirth. That really that people aren't taking to the streets to say, 'My basic civil rights are not only violated as an individual, but widely disrespected in policy and practice all across the country in hundreds of facilities.'"—Cristen Pascucci About Cristen Pascucci: A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media.  Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options. Cristen is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2020 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women's rights in birth.   Connect with Cristen Pascucci: Website: birthmonopoly.com Facebook: Birth Monopoly Instagram: @birthmonopoly   COVID-19 and Pregnancy Resources: BIRTH MONOPOLY: COVID-19 AND DOULA SUPPORT: HOW TO RESPOND TO CHANGING HOSPITAL POLICIES Coronavirus COVID-19 | Evidence Based Birth® Resource Page Black Mamas Matter Alliance VBAC Facts: Offering Labor After Cesarean During COVID-19   Connect with Michelle Smith: Website: BirthEaseServices.com Facebook: Birth Ease, The Birth Ease Podcast Instagram: @ birtheasemichellesmith YouTube: Birth Ease LinkedIn: Birth Ease Michelle Smith Show: Birth Ease  

In this episode, I interview Cristen Pascucci, founder of Birth Monopoly, about respectful disagreement when talking about childbirth topics. After the birth of her son in 2011, Cristen left a career in public affairs to study American maternity care and women’s rights. From 2012 to 2016, she served as vice president of Improving Birth, spearheading a multi-year grassroots media strategy to get America’s maternity care crisis into the national news. She also created a legal advocacy hotline for pregnant women, and she began raising awareness around obstetric violence through consumer campaigns. Cristen has helped organize, strategize, and publicize major lawsuits related to obstetric violence, and is co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project and host of the Birth Allowed Radio podcast. At Birth Monopoly, Cristen advocates for a free maternity care market, working closely with leading national advocates, organizations and birth lawyers, as well as educating the public and health care providers about the human and legal rights of people in childbirth. She is also working on a documentary film on obstetric violence.  Cristen and I discuss respectful disagreement as Evidence Based Birth will soon be launching a Signature Article on the controversial topic of circumcision. When we alluded to this upcoming article on social media, we received many negative comments and people who were upset that we would even address the issue. EBB is no stranger to controversial topics, and we don’t shy away from hard subjects. Cristen and I talk about ways to express all views respectfully and effectively, so there can be productive conversations around these important issues. We also discuss trauma, triggers, and oppression in the birth world.  For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: Connect with Birth Monopoly via Facebook, Instagram or the organization’s website. Join Birth Monopoly’s mailing list on the site’s home page to download a free free guide and course on informed consent and refusal during hospital births. View the trailer of the upcoming documentary “Mother May I?” here.

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 Sarah for coming on the show and delving back into this deeply personal experience with us. Resources: Consulting and training services from our expert guest, Ada Johnson https://hawthorndoulacare.wordpress.com/provider-consults/ Resources for professionals from Empty Arms Bereavement Support http://www.emptyarmsbereavement.org/resources-for-professionals Compassionate Bereavement Care®Certification through the MISS Foundation https://missfoundation.org/compassionate-bereavement-care/compassionate-bereavement-care-certificationCDC statistics on stillbirthhttps://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/stillbirth/facts.htm Thank you to Evidence Based Birth for making this episode possible!!

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 special guest is Jen McLellan, of www.plussizebirth.com. “My midwife was the first health care provider to ever touch my body with compassion.” Plus size pregnant women are often treated differently during the pregnancy and birthing process, even though 60% of the population in child-bearing years are considered overweight or obese. But our bodies are designed for this, and we can have healthy outcomes. And if we do develop complications, it isn’t because we are bad people. We should be fully supported along our journey to motherhood, and not to be made to feel ashamed. Let’s talk about people as human beings, not just statistics and worst case scenarios. Instead of focusing on negative possibilities, using shame and scare tactics, it is important to focus on the positive outcomes that we want. Women who are shamed are less likely to receive routine medical care and more likely to gain weight. If we make risks seem like foregone conclusions then what is the incentive to make the pregnancy as healthy as possible? It is important to connect with size-friendly care providers. • They have worked through any biases they have around weight and health. http://www.obesity.org/obesity/resources/facts-about-obesity/bias-stigmatization • They don’t classify pregnant mothers as high risk based solely on BMI. • They have the proper equipment (i.e. larger blood pressure cuff, larger speculum, scale with higher upper limit, appropriate labour bed). Your first clue about this is whether they have chairs without arms in the waiting room. The message is: “If you fit in here, then you are welcome. If you don’t, you aren’t welcome.” • They have honest and compassionate conversations about health and weight; this isn’t about avoiding talking about risks. “Pregnancy is an opportunity to change the relationship that you have with your body.” Resources mentioned: Get Jen’s Plus Size Pregnancy Bundle (30% off with code 30off) - https://plussizebirth.com/my-plus-size-pregnancy-bundle/ Become a size friendly professional - https://benourished.org/trainings-post/promoting-body-trust-in-clinical-practice/ Check out Jen’s new website: www.plusmommy.com WANT TO LEARN MORE? Go to www.birthmonopoly.com WANT TO CONNECT? Email: birthallowedradio@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthmonopoly Twitter: www.twitter.com/birthmonopoly Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthmonopoly WANT TO SUPPORT US? Review us on iTunes, SoundCloud, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Businesses and organizations: Underwrite the show! For more information, contact us at birthallowedradio@gmail.com

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 38 years about what she has seen change, and what it means for healthy births moving forward. My special guest is Karen Webster, of www.womanwisemidwife.com. Karen has been investigated and charged in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia for practicing midwifery--and she says she would do it all again! She puts herself on the line to help women give birth as they choose. “I was illegal.” From the 1980s until just recently, it was a felony to practice professional midwifery in Maryland. It is now legal now, but so restricted that it makes practice difficult. “Not a week that goes by that I don’t have a mom say to me ‘they said that my baby might die if I don’t do this.'" We have created two separate and often hostile systems. Midwifery respects the client's right of refusal; they are the center of the care. It puts the onus on women to make decisions about their own care, without using fear or violent, disrespectful language. Other countries are following our lead when it comes to birth, which is unfortunate, because we aren’t doing a great job. The medical community is starting to realize that we are in crisis and is trying really hard to humanize the doctor-patient relationship--that effort just hasn't reached Labor & Delivery yet. “We are terrified of birth and death because it is taken out of our everyday reality.” Birth and death are so removed from our personal experience that we have given them both over to experts to manage for us at high cost. But that is changing. "What I see coming is a time when what midwives did in the late 60s, early 70s--the renaissance of midwifery, the re-creation of who we were [as] community midwives--is going to happen again. Because the restrictions being imposed on midwives are not realistic for women." Resources mentioned: Being Mortal, Atul Gawande, www.atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/ WANT TO LEARN MORE? Go to www.birthmonopoly.com WANT TO CONNECT? Email: birthallowedradio@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthmonopoly Twitter: www.twitter.com/birthmonopoly Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthmonopoly WANT TO SUPPORT US? Review us on iTunes, SoundCloud, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Businesses and organizations: Underwrite the show! For more information, contact us at birthallowedradio@gmail.com

On this episode of “Yoga| Birth|Babies,” I speak with founder of Birth Monopoly and co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, Cristen Pascucci.  Cristen and I have a lively conversation about informed consent and implied consent in maternity care.  This episode reveals what your rights are as a pregnant and birthing woman.  Did you know you can refuse routine interventions and ask for more clarification on the risks and benefits of these interventions? Feeling more involved in the decision making of one’s birth experience has shown to leave the mother feeling more positive about her birth.  Please take the time to listen to this talk to better support yourself and your family. In this episode:  What brought Cristen to moving away from working in a PR firm to starting Birth Monopoly? What does implied consent mean in maternity care? The difference between informed consent and implied consent? What are women’s rights in labor and birth once they have been admitted to the hospital and signed a general consent form? Reviewing the ACOG’s statement: “That informed consent is ‘the willing acceptance of a medical intervention by a patient after adequate disclosure by the physician of the nature of the intervention with its risks and benefits and of the alternatives with their risks and benefits.’”   How and when to encourage this conversation to take place since the middle of labor or facing a time crunch for a suggested procedure may be difficult to comprehend these things. The importance of aligning with care provider supporting your rights of refusal and supporting your birth vision. Is there anything a woman cannot refuse during labor and birth? Language to use to help a woman or her birth posse advocate for themselves without becoming adversarial or being labeled “the problem patient” and still creating a friendly, human connection. Is  there ever a bottom line that if the mother is refusing treatment but the medical staff believes the mother and/or the baby are in danger they have a right to override her right to refuse treatment? Why are women’s rights to make decisions and autonomy in birth being violated? Visible improvements in maternity care with the rise of more mainstream birth activism. What else Cristen is up to and where to find her! About Cristen: Cristen Pascucci is A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly’s Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media.  Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options.  Cristen is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2019 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women’s rights in birth. Cristen’s Projects: birthmonopoly.com http://www.exposingthesilenceproject.com Birth Allowed Radio   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.exposingthesilenceproject.com/ > The journey from doula to obstetric violence activist While acting in the role of birth photographer, Lindsay watched a mother fight to see her newborn baby after it was immediately taken from her by the medical staff. "She never even looked at the baby’s face. They just took it." Recently, a doula client had been given a court order to comply with a caesarean, despite having no medical indications that it was necessary. So many ethical and legal issues are raised when you witness birth. Sometimes mothers are not told anything about the procedures that are performed on them; informed consent is often not even an option. > What does obstetric violence and birth trauma look like? The common theme, when talking to women who have been subjected to obstetric violence, is the idea that they have no voice; they feel like no one is listening to them or including them in the discussion about their own birth. Another prominent theme in birth trauma has to do with separation of moms and babies at birth. Mothers want to be next to their babies – it is instinctual. Suppression of that biological urge can create very real bonding trauma. When breeding horses, it is well known that you would never touch a foal for at least 15 minutes post birth, unless absolutely necessary, to allow for proper bonding. Yet we don’t allow that same opportunity to human mothers. Lastly, there is a strong theme of objectification in these stories. Women feel like they are being acted upon, as if they are an inanimate object. They feel manhandled and as if things are happening to them without their knowledge or consent. Resources mentioned: Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith L. Herman WANT TO LEARN MORE? Go to www.birthmonopoly.com WANT TO CONNECT? Email: birthallowedradio@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthmonopoly Twitter: www.twitter.com/birthmonopoly Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthmonopoly WANT TO SUPPORT US? Review us on iTunes, SoundCloud, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Businesses and organizations: Underwrite the show! For more information, contact us at birthallowedradio@gmail.com We would love to thank attorney Susan Jenkins for her support in this podcast. Susan is a national advocate for midwives and birth activists. Susan can be reached at (866)686-1348.

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/impliedconsent/ My special guest is lawyer and birth rights advocate Hermine Hayes-Klein. http://www.hayeskleinlaw.com/ *Let’s Talk About Consent* Implied consent is a concept that has become skewed, in all aspects of life on the sexual spectrum, including birth. Whether we are talking about date rapists or hospital administrators, there is a lot of misinformation about what implied consent actually means. We are talking about the right to consent to or refuse treatments in the context of labor and delivery, as well as the absence of direct consent. This includes such things as medications, cutting or episiotomies, induction, and all other interventions and treatments, all of which can save lives when appropriate. But we also know that those interventions are massively overused. For instance, the rate of c-sections has risen from 5% nationally in the 70s, to 33% nationally. This hasn’t brought about improvements in outcomes. In the system in which U.S. women are giving birth, the reality is that there is an inclination by providers to use these interventions because of perceptions of things like liability risk and other incentives that impact recommendations. Rates of surgical birth range from 7% to 70% in hospitals across the United States, and studies show that is not because patient health profiles vary that drastically. Your right of informed consent and refusal is a critical tool to navigate the dysfunctions that occur. Providers often think women do not have the right to refuse, and the pushback against refusal can range from pressuring to violence.  The fact is, even if the baby is going to die, the woman retains the legal right to make decisions. (Read more about related ethics opinions from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists at www.birthmonopoly.com/acogethics.) A great deal of the fear of the right of refusal is based on the idea that doctors can predict with accuracy the baby’s need for these interventions, yet those predictions often cannot be made with certainty.  These interventions are also not always evidence based, and the motivation to use them is often otherwise incentivized. A hospital admission alone does not imply consent for all interventions, and implied consent should never override explicit non-consent. There are gendered assumptions about female passivity and their own bodies that underlie the assumptions about consent. There is a mistrust of women contributing to this debate. Implied consent is also used to make it harder to litigate date rape and marital rape cases. Nonconsented birth interventions bear similarities to sexual assault, legally, and with the experience of the victim. Finding an advocate willing to pursue the case can also be challenging. *So What Needs to Change?* Training and education in our facilities need to happen to close the gap between the ethical and legal principle that women have the right to refuse medically recommended treatment and the realities that women are experiencing on the ground in maternity care. WANT TO LEARN MORE? Go to www.birthmonopoly.com WANT TO CONNECT? Email: birthallowedradio@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthmonopoly Twitter: www.twitter.com/birthmonopoly Instagram:  www.instagram.com/birthmonopoly WANT TO SUPPORT US? Review us on iTunes, SoundCloud, or wherever you listen to the podcast. Businesses and organizations: Underwrite the show!  For more information, contact us at birthallowedradio@gmail.com