On today's podcast, we're going to talk with the founder of Dandy Doula, Xian Brooks, MPH, about the importance of intersectional birth work and amplifying the need for intersectional birth support for queer, trans, and BIPOC birthing bodies.

Xian Brooks (he/him) is a public health professional from Louisville, Kentucky, where he is a community-based birth doula and a Master of Science in Nursing student. Xian completed his Bachelor's of Science in Public Health Education at North Carolina Central University and his Master's of Public Health in Community and Behavioral Health at the University of Colorado. Over time, Xian has accumulated a lot of experience in queer, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming reproductive health education. Xian's training has equipped him to understand the root causes of perinatal death rates among Black individuals, especially how race, gender, sexual orientation, and class are not mutually exclusive when it comes to health disparities. Xian's lived experience recognizes that health disparities are more than just numbers on a page. Xian is currently working towards becoming a nurse-midwife because representation in healthcare is extremely important to Xian. He firmly believes it is necessary to overcome negative health outcomes and revolutionize healthcare.

We talk about what inspired Xian to dive into the work of community and behavioral health as well as his journey as a nurse-midwife. We also discuss what intersectional birth work looks like and the importance to amplify the need to create safe perinatal spaces for queer, trans, and BIPOC birthing bodies. 

Content warning: We mention transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming, racism, police violence, and birth trauma.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Xian Brooks and The Dandy Doula here. Follow The Dandy Doula on Facebook and Instagram. 

Hoyert DL. Maternal mortality rates in the United States, 2019. NCHS Health E-Stats. 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:103855.

Hunter, L., McMahon, E., Graves, B., Wooten, A., Kriebs, J., Pickett, E., Tanner, T., Garcia, R., Apatov, N., Burkman, R., Hodges, K., & Bright, C. (2019). (rep.). 2019 Demographic Report (p. 1). Linthicum, Maryland: American Midwifery Certification Board.

Loewenberg Weisband, Y., Klebanoff, M., Gallo, M. F., Shoben, A., & Norris, A. H. (2018). Birth outcomes of women using a midwife versus women using a physician for prenatal care. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 63(4), 399–409. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.12750

Taffe MA, Gilpin NW. Racial inequity in grant funding from the US National Institutes of Health. Elife. 2021;10:e65697. Published 2021 Jan 18. doi:10.7554/eLife.65697. 

Tikkanen, R., Gunja, M. Z., FitzGerald, M., & Zephyrin, L. (2020). Maternal mortality and maternity care in the United States compared to 10 other developed countries. Issue briefs, Commonwealth Fund. 

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