Monique Welch-Rutherford is an award-winning journalist based in Houston, specializing in uncovering unique stories that highlight the experiences of diverse and marginalized communities, particularly the intersection of health, policy, and race. Formerly a Diverse Communities reporter at the Houston Landing, she has, over the last couple of years, focused some of her reporting on the disparities that Black women face in maternal healthcare. She is now continuing that work as a 2025 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism National Fellow in partnership with Capital B, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to uncovering important stories about how Black people experience America today.

Monique Welch-Rutherford, journalist

Welcome to Whole Mother. This is KPFT Houston 90.1 FM, Galveston 89.5 FM, and Huntsville 91.9. I’m your host Pat Jones. With me in the studio is Natalie Guzman.

She’s going to interpret Spanish for some of the show today and for future shows. Natalie is a Spanish outreach coordinator and fashion show coordinator for Birth Fair in the last two years. She graduated with a fashion degree.

However, it was the ecstatic home birth of her son that opened the portal into birth work. An initiation that forever changed her life and awakened a calling she could not ignore. She’s now a birth doula, student midwife, and ceremonialist devoted to serving the BIPOC community, honoring her ancestral ways, and offering care that is culturally rooted, spiritually grounded, and deeply loving.

Birth is her obsession, her devotion, and her offering. She is here to protect its mystery, celebrate its power, and help us all remember that birth is ceremony. This is why she joined the leadership team for Birth Fair.

And again, she’s the fashion coordinator for the last two years. She looks forward to putting on the most adorable runway show and helping spread the word in Spanish. She’s going to interpret for us now.

Bienvenidos al programa Whole Mother. En el estudio hoy los acompaño. Yo soy Natalie Guzman.

Para darles una idea de quién soy, soy la coordinadora de alcance comunitaria en español y coordinadora del desfile de la moda durante los dos últimos años. Me gradué con un título en moda. Sin embargo, fue el éxtasis del parto en casa de mi hijo que abrió el portal hacia el camino del nacimiento.

Una iniciación que transformó mi vida para siempre y despertó un llamado que no puedo ignorar. Ahora soy doula de parto, estudiante de partería, y ceremonialista. Dedicada a servir a la comunidad BIPOC, honrando las formas de mis ancestros y ofreciendo un cuidado con raíces culturales, fundamento espiritual y un amor profundo.

El nacimiento es mi obsesión, mi devoción y mi ofrenda. Aquí estoy para proteger el misterio, celebrar su poder y ayudarnos a recordar que nacimiento es ceremonia. Por esta razón me uní al equipo de liderazgo de Birth Fair.

Es increíble ser parte de una organización que ha ayudado a las familias a encontrar recursos de parto en Houston por más de 21 años. Espero con alegría presentar el desfile de moda más precioso y ayudar a correr la voz en español. También me pueden encontrar en Instagram como SweetsRenderDoula.

Birth Fair in Houston is happening October the 4th from 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at United Way, located at 50 Wah Drive. We have speakers, four rooms of speakers. We have vendors, probably 60 plus vendors, and of course the fashion show that Natalie is coordinating.

We have community awards. We have swag bags. And best of all, Birth Fair is free October the 4th, 10.30 to 4 at United Way.

Welcome to Whole Mother. This is KPFT Houston 90.1, Galveston 89.5, and Huntsville 91.9 FM. I’m your host, Pat Jones.

Whole Mother is a voice in our community which educates and informs us. There are many decisions to be made out there as a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, birthing person, friend. Whole Mother believes that we should always make our choices out of rational thinking.

Choices that are made through education and research, not out of fear. Especially fear that is imposed by those who stand to profit by our choices. It is hoped that the education you receive on this show will contribute to changing the way we birth and the way we parent.

All humans are born good. I’ve seen more than 3,000 babies come into the world, and I can tell you there are no bad babies. There are no bad humans.

All babies are born exactly the same in their goodness, their innocence, their curiosity, their brilliance, their ability to love and to trust. They are all born with the same delight in the world. It doesn’t matter what country they’re born in, what skin color they have, what language they’re learning to speak, or how much money is in their family.

We are all born with the same goodness. We all come into the world with the same potential. So, if that’s true, if all humans are born without hate, judgment, shame, jealousy, then where do we learn those qualities if we’re not born with them? Whole Mother is here to look at our parenting, which begins in the very first moments of birth, probably in utero.

It’s my belief that we learn about life and we make decisions about life from the very first moment. So, if that’s true, then the first moments, the first weeks, the first years are really important to tell our children that their needs will be met, that they’re safe, that they’re cared for, and that they’re good. Remember that KPFT is listener-sponsored, and you are the listeners.

There’s no corporate sponsorships. That means we can bring you information, education that’s not funded or sponsored by anyone but you, but we need your help to stay on the air. So, please, go to kpft.org and become a donor.

The best thing is to become a sustainer, and what that means is that you give a small amount of money, whatever you can, every month, and then they know exactly how much is going to come in and what they need to do. So, anything you can, kpft.org. You can also email me at birthcareataol.com if you have any questions about it. I am very excited about our guest tonight.

She is doing a project that’s near and dear to my heart. Those of you that have listened to the show for many years, you will say yes. We do talk about that a bit.

In our studio is Monique Welch Rutherford. She is an award-winning journalist who is based in Houston. She’s specializing in uncovering unique stories that highlight the experiences of diverse and marginalized communities, particularly the intersection of health, policy, and race.

Formerly a diverse communities reporter at the Houston Landing, she has, over the last couple of years, focused some of her reporting on the disparities that Black women face in maternal health care. She is now continuing that work as a 2025 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism National Fellow in partnership with Capital B, which is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to uncovering important stories about how Black people experience America today. We are so happy to have you, Monique.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for the work that you’re doing. This is how we change the world.

This is it. Yes. Thanks for having me, Pat.

We’re delighted. So is there any more that you might tell the audience about you? Well, I’ve been in Houston about four years now. I moved here from Tampa, Florida.

And we’ll probably talk about this a little bit more, but I started hearing about this epidemic is what I’ll call it, because that’s essentially what it is. Yes. Nationally, of course, it’s a national issue.

And I was sitting on my couch one day. This was in 2022. My now husband and I were engaged then.

So we’re having all of the conversations, you know, about a new life. Yes. Getting married and eventually wanting to start a family, of course.

And I keep hearing about this, you know, how Black women are dying. Black women are facing these traumatic childbirth-bearing experiences. And I was one of the people that I’ve been scared of childbirth since I was a little girl.

Just the thought once I realized that’s how babies are brought into this world. Right? So there was already kind of this fear that I’ve had since a little girl, knowing that I wanted to be a mom, but just wanted to skip through the childbirth part, right? Yes. That was always me growing up.

And so then I started hearing about this. And, you know, I’m already starting with a place of fear. And then you add this on top of it.

You know, listeners can’t see me, but I am a Black woman. And I’m like, oh, great. Another thing to be fearful about.

Right. So I started hearing about this documentary. And I’m sure you all know about it, Aftershock.

It came out in, I think, the summer of 2022. So I watched it, of course. And I don’t know if I was emotionally prepared for some of the horror stories that were shared on that.

It was a great documentary. I just didn’t know mentally and emotionally how bad it was. Yes.

And I remember sitting there watching it. And tears just started uncontrollably flowing from my face. I didn’t even realize I was, like, it had gotten to me that much.

And just the stories, you know, it focused a lot of stories in New York. You know, fathers and partners who were now, you know, left to raise children on their own. And it was just heartbreaking.

You know, they went in expecting everything to be fine or even delivered the baby. Mom was okay at the hospital. They came home.

And, you know, suddenly she has this episode, you know, and she passes away. And it’s in that kind of postpartum period. And so you just kept hearing about these stories.

And granted, you know, right, that this doesn’t happen to everyone. But still, the fact that something like that could happen and it was very preventable. And that it’s unnecessary.

Very unnecessary. It’s very unnecessary. So it was very chilling for me, you know, to even think about, you know, you end this kind of new season of your life.

You’re thinking about these things. And it’s just like, oh, my goodness. Like, you know, my parents and grandparents didn’t have to think about this as much in this way.

When they had families. And now it’s like a new problem that I have to deal with. So it was really hard to grapple with.

And I just started crying. And so, you know, it started personally. That was my kind of first experience, awareness of it.

And then eventually, you know, your wheels get to turn in and you put on your journalist hat. I came out here. I was at the Houston Chronicle at the time doing work there.

More so kind of breaking news and trending. So I wasn’t really focused on some of the niche topics that I am now. But it stayed with me.

And I knew that I’m going to get to that. It was one of those things that was always in the back of my head. So you start just chipping away piece by piece, you know, in the news cycle whenever you can.

Because it wasn’t really my job then. Right? Then when I got the opportunity at the Houston Landing, I was a diverse community reporter. I was like, this is it.

You know, this is exactly what I was brought here to do. And I’m finally going to do it. So I just started chipping away at it piece by piece.

Just started dissecting the issue more. And, you know, you start following, you hear things. Oh, Harris County got all this money to address this issue.

And so I was like, okay. So county officials and agencies, they’re also aware that this is an issue. You know? So I just couldn’t escape it.

Personally and professionally. And part, some of that curiosity, I think because obviously I am a black woman and because I’m a journalist, I kind of felt called to do something about it and try to, that’s the thing about us journalists. Sometimes we have this savior complex and we think we can change the world.

Sometimes, you know, we don’t need to change the world. Sometimes you do. Sometimes we do.

But, you know, if we can impact one person, that to us is like changing the world. If we can impact one policy, if we can save one life, you know what I mean? I do. That’s how we feel about home mother.

So if it’s one person, I’ve done my job, you know? So I just started chipping away. You feel this calling and responsibility, like now you know better. So what part can you play in this crisis? And I’m a little peace, you know, but I think some of the work I have done has brought awareness and caused people to think a little differently.

Some of my even white counterparts have said, wow, like I can’t believe, you know, some of the sources, the things they would tell me, some of their experiences. You know, if you don’t really humanize people, it’s really easy to get caught up in a headline or a statistic, right? Because everyone has heard the statistic. Everyone knows the statistic by now.

Black women are three to four, you know, more times as likely to die. Like everyone knows that. But attaching that statistic to real people and humanizing the people, it’s no longer a statistic.

When you can see a face or, you know, a mom crying or holding her baby, you know, you’re humanizing this very real thing. And that’s all I wanted to do is show the gravity and impact that this affects real people, you know? So that was a long spiel, but that’s essentially how I got brought into this work. And I just haven’t been able to put it down.

That’s really wonderful. I’m inspired to tell you that quite a few years ago, I’m not sure how many, but maybe 15 years ago, a midwife named Afua Hussan. Oh, yeah.

She had the birthing place. Yeah. She’s passed away now, but she was on Whole Mother Show many times.

And that’s probably what lit my fire to do this, to be so passionate about trying to make a change here. We’re talking about the statistics, and they were surprisingly, I don’t think they were as bad then as they are now. I’m not sure I’d have to go back and really compare them, but, you know, we haven’t improved.

Right. And that’s upsetting. Well, is there anything more you want to tell about what kind of sparked your interest here, or tell the audience a little more about the journey that you’re on? Yeah, it has been a journey.

So that was, again, it started in 2022 with my overall awareness. Professionally, it started probably end of 2023, 2024. I kept thinking, I started reading articles to see, okay, what has been done? Because I started reading studies and seeing, like, what is the true way to solve this? And I started learning about dualism, midwives.

And you start seeing, you know, all over of how Black women prefer to have providers who look like them. And more people are starting to learn about dualism, midwives. And, you know, the studies that show that they are actually saving lives.

They are the ones who are curbing preterm births. They are the ones who, you know, in low-risk pregnancies and deliveries are actually saving lives. And so I was like, hmm.

Again, I operate on facts and stats, right? So when I see that, I’m like, okay, so now I have to get to dualism midwives. Those are the people that I need to talk to. So I just started piece by piece trying to figure out, okay, who are the people, who are the front runners that I need to talk to? And I talked to everyone from, you know, maternal fetal specialists in the hospitals and, you know, nurse midwives and OBGYN.

I talked to the whole spectrum of medical providers, weighing in on, giving their perspective from different facets of this issue. But, you know, still, it’s nothing kind of like what I’ve learned from dualism midwives, I will say. It’s quite different.

One, just the personalization. Professionally as a journalist, you don’t have to kind of go through as many hoops and hurdles with someone who’s in kind of a more formal institution, right, of a hospital. They’re a little more guarded, of course, for obvious reasons, as they should be, right? But with dualism midwives, it’s just fascinating.

One, because I, to this day, I’ve talked to several at this point, I have not met a single doula or a single midwife who did not get into the work because of a traumatic experience they either suffered or someone close to them had suffered. That called them, you know, to want to be, like we talked earlier, this kind of savior and want to fix this issue. And it’s just so inspiring.

So once I finally, once I learned about, started reading these studies and I learned about dualism midwives and, you know, the success rate of them in low risk pregnancies, I was like, yeah, I would love, in my head, you always, as a reporter, you kind of dream up of a situation, a dream assignment or dream story that you can tell. You just dream big, even if you know that, like, it’s probably not going to happen. I was like, oh, I would love to just like shadow a midwife, you know, be a fly on the wall, be present at a birth, just like see the whole process, how it works, but also dispel a lot of myths.

As you know, there is a long rooted in dark history often, and even the, the, the inception of midwives and the, eventually the evolution to traditional hospital based care being the primary way. There’s a long, dark history in that, right? Which we all know about, and part of it is rooted in racism, you know, as is this issue. So I’m exploring all of this, and, you know, I’m talking to dualism midwives, and it was just, it was fascinating.

You know, the difference, what you learn, what you see. And so I was like, oh, it’d be great if I can just like, just witness a home birth and be able to tell that story and dispel some of the myths you hear about safety and, you know, everything that has been out there. I’m sure you’re a longtime midwife.

I’m sure you’ve heard it all. And so that’s what I set out to do. It took me way longer to find one.

And I particularly wanted to find a, for this story, wanted to find a black midwife as well, because that’s what I’ve been hearing from black women. You know, they, they prefer, they’re going to go that route. They prefer to have a provider that looks like them, etc, etc.

Right. Or a woman of color, etc. And so, but I struggled to find one.

And I came across, like you mentioned, at the birthing place. Yes, I came across her, and I was trying to track her down and that’s when I realized that she had just passed. It was maybe some months or maybe almost a year after she had passed where I found a story that the Chronicle had did with her and one of her patients, and it was a beautiful kind of portrait story.

Okay, so there’s, you know, there’s some people out here. But I still contacted them and I reached, I think her niece, Sunshine. Yes.

And sweet girl at the time, you know, she was basically, I reached out to her, told her my interests, what I wanted to do with the story, the story I wanted to tell. And at the time, I think it was just a little much for her, you know, she was still transitioning to the birthing place. You know, it was just a lot.

And she was like, I don’t think I’m the right person right now for you to speak to, but I love what you’re doing. Let me connect you with someone else. And she was like, you should talk to Deshaun.

So I ended up talking to Deshaun. Des Rosser is now Taylor. She recently got married.

She connected me with her and she’s like, she’s doing great work in the community. She’s kind of on the come up, but you know, she’s now sponsored by March of Dimes. She’s doing great work.

I was like, oh, perfect. But I’ve been searching for someone to talk to for almost a year. And I just, it’s one of those things you just keep trying, keep trying.

And when it comes, it comes. Right. You just kind of put your head down and focus on other things.

And we connected, met for lunch one day, told her about it. And, you know, she was game. And I kind of just, as a reporter, you never want to bombard people because people don’t have to talk to you.

Like mistrust is a thing. Right. There are some bad actors out there.

And to be honest, just, you know, you want to make it safe. Yeah. You want to make people safe and feel comfortable.

So with a sensitive topic like this, you have to tread lightly and treat it very sensitively. So that’s what I wanted to do because, again, these are real people and these are real stories. And she has a story of trauma.

Right. So I wanted to be careful of telling her story. It’s not my story to tell, but I wanted to be careful with that responsibility.

And after, you know, talking, we sat and talked for hours and she was just telling me about her experience. And I was like, I think I was like speechless. And I’m hardly ever speechless because, you know, I’m a reporter and I talk for a living.

And I was just like, oh, my God, like the amount of stuff that she’s when she’s gone through, you know, in her. It wasn’t here in Houston. She was in the army at the time.

And so she was in El Paso. But still, principles still applies. And so she was telling me that and, you know, how she flatlined and how doctors just weren’t listening to her from the very beginning.

And so I started to see that narrative repeat in different people I talked to. Oh, they don’t care. They don’t listen.

I told them this. They don’t listen. You know, it’s just always just they don’t listen or they don’t care or my appointment was rushed or I didn’t know that I could do this.

So there’s just a lot of unknowns and no one’s really trying to educate or inform. This is everything that I’m hearing. And I said, OK, well, I think we definitely have something here.

I was like, honestly, I think I have like two or three stories that I want to do with you. So she got to tell me about her training program, how she started and whatnot. And then we just kind of for the last year and a half, we just she keeps me updated about things I should know.

And it’s become that working relationship, which every reporter wants. So I did a beautiful story. I ended up telling her.

I was like, you know, my dream. I was like, I think it would be great if you’re comfortable or if you have a patient who you feel would be comfortable. I would love to see this kind of play out in real time in action, be there ideally for birth.

And she said that might be difficult, but she’s like, let me let me think about that. Like, let me think about my patients and who I could even ask who might be open to it. And then checked in a couple of weeks later and she was like, I think I have someone for you.

And I was like, what, for real? Like, in my head, I was like, no, like, show them. You’re like, this won’t happen. You know, I was preparing myself to be let down.

I don’t want to be disappointed. Yeah. You kind of have to prepare yourself that way because not everything is going to work out and not everything is a story either.

But it is also a story that I hadn’t pitched to my editor yet. Sometimes you just kind of wait because you don’t want to get their hopes up either if it’s not going to pan. Right.

And she was like, yeah, yeah, she’s open. We can do it. She’s this amount along.

And I was just like, oh, my God. And so then I’m excited. I’m jazzed.

I run to our photo director at the time who is a true visionary. I had already told the photo editor, like, hey, I have this idea. I want to do this.

I want you all to beautifully capture it. You know, we were already in communication about it. And she was like, just keep me updated.

I love this idea. She was giving me tips on how to approach it visually, how I would approach the conversation and how she would capture it. So I can feel confident to explain that to my source and what it will look like.

And I remember running back to her. I was like, you’re not going to believe this, but we got a birth. Oh, that’s how we just kind of started.

And it turned out to be this beautiful, beautiful. We did a separate photo essay with just the photos just so you can really see the beauty of that moment. And then we did a story talking about that.

And I think I shared that’s one of the ones I shared with you. So from there, that was kind of like, I was like, all right. Well, that was kind of like, what am I going to do now? I can’t let this go.

But what else is there to tap into? So then I started thinking about. What about the women who maybe may not qualify for a midwife or may not have access or may not be able to have a home birth or assisted birth at a birth center? They maybe they’re high risk. They need to go to a hospital.

It’s not for everybody at the end of the day. Right. At the end of the day, we’re going to fix the crisis.

We need to fix all aspects of it. Right. That’s right.

And it can’t just be on duos and midwives, unfortunately, can’t do it themselves. It’s a whole system, radical system. Exactly.

It’s a whole systemic issue that needs to be eradicated and changed. Right. So I said, OK, I wonder how hospitals are faring in this area.

Like, what is actually going on behind the scenes kind of in that journey leading up to, you know, that could prevent it? Because according to the CDC, 80 percent of these deaths are preventable. And even if it doesn’t always result in a tragic loss of a mother or an infant, there still can be maternal morbidity. And a lot of things that go wrong that turn women off.

Right. Or make them kind of regret their choices, their experiences. And, you know, I don’t have kids yet, but hopefully eventually we plan to.

And I just know you that’s such it’s already so many things going on. Right. It’s an exciting time.

You want it to remain exciting, not fearful. Right. Right.

So but I know so many women. I probably I can count on one hand how many friends, women I know who enjoyed their pregnancy experience. I just I didn’t hear a lot of positive stories.

And I think that’s a problem. So, yeah. Right here.

Yeah. I’m sorry. Something’s not right here.

Yeah, it shouldn’t be like that. It shouldn’t be like that. And in a city like Houston, that’s a large city has so many resources.

So I’m just like, this should not like, why are we failing at this of all places? Why is Houston failing? You know, the largest medical center in the world. It’s touted as one of the best, you know, like on the outside, on paper, to me, Houston should not be failing at this. And so that’s been my main North Star when I report a lot of these stories.

And so that’s when I, this project came about, I pitched the project, really wanting to kind of peel back the layers and see from the inside out kind of how is it getting here? What is going on? Are there ignored signs in prenatal care? You know, is there, is it a provider issue? Is it a lack of adequate quality care? Is it a lack of health care? What is it? And there are so many factors, right? There’s no one rhyme or reason why this is happening. It doesn’t look the same for everybody. And so that’s what this project is aiming to do.

Get some, I’m partnering with some researchers at the University of Texas out in Austin, who are working with me to kind of pull some like hospital and patient data, basically just to get not any patient data, because we obviously with HIPAA, we can’t get access to that, but mainly to see what some of those rates are, what some of the kind of internal rates look like, anything from overall, just trying to track morbidity and seeing what are some of those indicators, what are some of those red flags that are going off that can turn this situation from beautiful to ugly. That’s essentially what we’re trying to, what we’re trying to reveal through this project and match that with human stories. So that’s where I have the survey that I created.

And I really just want to get as much input as possible. So it’s two part. One part, obviously sourcing, want to talk to people here about real experiences to kind of pair data to real humans.

That’s what I always try to do, is humanize this issue. Yeah. I’m sorry, just things like what happened to you? What was your experience like? Yeah, or even did you enjoy your experience? I try to leave a lot of the questions open-ended.

Some are yes and no, some are multiple choice, some there’s options if you want to elaborate, there’s options if you want to be anonymous, if you just want to share your experience, you don’t really want to be quoted, you don’t want your name out there, it’s a sensitive issue. I can’t say if I was in someone’s shoes and some of the stories that I would want my business out there either. So I’m trying to be as respectful about people’s choice and options, because that’s what this is about, is choice.

And so the questions range, it’s really just trying to get people talking, get people comfortable, but also kind of start collecting data of experiences, because that’s something I haven’t really seen out there in Houston. There’s a lot of data on mortality, you know, all the ugly things, right? We know what that is, there’s data on cesarean rates, there’s data on everything you can imagine, but there’s not really tangible data on the experiences. So even if it’s a small sample, I just want to get a sample to be able to say, hey, we’ve surveyed 200 women and 80 percent, I’m making this up of course, but you know, 80 percent of them reported they did not have a good experience, childbirth experience in Houston.

That is a problem. Being able to say that definitively is really the goal, is really to get a kind of general assessment. Now again, it’s a small sample, it’s not going to be representative of all of Houston, right? But still, just to be able to humanize and give credence to people’s experiences in that way is all I want for the project and awareness, awareness in general.

The more you know, the more hopefully you feel called to do something about it and that’s what we need. As a midwife, my statistics were always just amazingly so much better than what I saw in statistics. And I was always like, why? What is it that I’m doing that’s different than what is happening here? And of course, I made guesses about it, but you know, I didn’t really, there was never any proof of what was different.

It seems like that’s where you’re going to really be able to show where those differences were. Tell the audience a little more about what are some of the questions in the study? Well, even like some of the questions, obviously it’s asking you, you know, your provider, like if you had, and some people obviously will have multiple kids. So maybe they went with their OB-GYN for the first time, second time around, they said, no, I’m trying this or I would do a midwife this time.

So it’s really to gauge also assess that as well. How many people have had a hospital delivery? How many people have had, you know, even if they had a hospital birth, maybe they had a doula there, or maybe they had a certified nurse midwife, whatever, just basically to get an overall feel for people’s choices, like where are they putting their dollars, you know? Who are they trusting for their care? It’s an important decision. So by seeing that, I think that will tell a story of its own, right? And that’s also what we’re hoping.

So it’s a range of questions. Some are, you know, what challenges and barriers to care have you faced? And the list goes on. It’s one for throughout pregnancy, and then there’s one throughout labor and delivery and or postpartum.

Some of them, and this is, a lot of this was just based on some of the things I’ve heard over the years from different women. Some was talked about uncomfortable labor positions, being unable to move, food assistance, like lack of familial support, inconsistent care, kind of multiple providers, they would see someone, then the next visit, it’d be someone else. And, you know, it was just never consistent.

Interventions, things like, you know, unnecessary or undesired cesarean sections, unwanted epidurals, things like that. Scheduled inductions, what have you. Listening, just giving a woman listening time, asking her about her diet, asking her about how her life is, finding out, you know, what’s troubling her, what her problems are.

One of the things I noticed as a student, or early in my career, I worked in labor and delivery, and I was a student at some of the county hospitals, and one of the things I saw is that their appointments were like nothing. They had spent hardly any time at all, and they didn’t ask them things like what I just described. I thought that was a pretty big component.

Yeah. So, yeah, the questions range. I mean, there’s, there’s, of course, questions like what kind of health insurance did you use, if you used any, whether it’s Medicaid, private insurance.

There’s questions, and then there’s kind of more short answer questions aren’t necessarily multiple choice. Things like, were you aware of the various types of birth support options available? There’s questions that address cultural competency, you know, was your provider’s race and ethnicity important to you? If so, why or why not? There’s a question on here about nutrition, and then there’s, there’s some thoughtful questions at the end that are kind of helping me in my reporting. Okay, what questions do you want to know? What questions do you think need to be addressed? What questions do you want me to ask? What actions do you need to see in your community to be taken to improve maternal health care? Things that are kind of pushing forward from a accountability and action standpoint.

You know, what advice do you have for a first time mother planning to give birth? Things basically that’s not just about trauma. And, you know, I’m very careful about that. Yes, this is traumatic, can be a traumatic topic.

But, you know, also want to hear those stories about joy and positivity. There are some people who reported they did enjoy their present pregnancy experience. There’s a couple things they reported.

But, you know, seeing the balance and the duality of both, and what some of the outliers are, and what made that experience great for some people also adds context. And that adds to the story. Because I don’t want to paint a false picture that this happens to everyone, because it does not, right? Some people have had great experiences.

And so wanting to not just focus on the negative as well. So, so far, I haven’t had that many responses, but I’m hoping that the birth fair will help with that. So I’m looking forward to that.

Let’s talk about that, too. If someone out there is listening to our show, and they would like to be a part of this, how would they become a part of it? Yeah, so the best way, well, first, you can get acquainted with me. I’m pretty much on every social media platform you can find.

I’m on, I was going to say Twitter, but now X, and Instagram, Facebook, what others, LinkedIn, you name it, I’m there. Monique Welch Rutherford, most of my usernames there is just MO underscore unique underscore, you can find me there. But also, I’ll be tabling at the birth fair, which I’m really excited about.

I have a QR code, I’m going to have a laptop to have access to people, you know, maybe don’t have access to internet or Wi Fi, that way they can just fill it out there. Yeah, they can either contact me, and they can also email me, Monique Welch at iCloud.com. To find out more information about it, I can send them a direct link to that as well. Let’s tell them about birth fair.

It’s October the 4th. It’s at United Way, which is at 50 Wall Drive. We will have at least 50, maybe more vendors, including you.

There’ll be a fashion show, there’ll be community awards. And best of all, there’s going to be some wonderful speakers. Four rooms of speakers going on all day.

The hours are 1030 to four. Again, you can go to huberth.org and see all about the birth fair. And please come on October the 4th at United Way from 1030 to four.

Yes, I’m looking forward to it. It’s our 21st annual birth fair, which is really exciting. So you’ll have a booth there, and people can come and talk with you in person and find out more about the study that you’re doing, and perhaps.

Yeah, and they can contribute. Again, if you’re comfortable with your name being included, or me contacting you for further questions, there’s a field for that. But I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to name drop themselves.

You can choose to remain completely confidential and anonymous. You can choose to have your answers included, but not your name. There’s plenty of ways to get involved that matches everyone’s comfortability level.

And even I welcome questions as well. I welcome questions about me. I welcome questions about my interest in the project.

Anonymous we expect, we question people, but we also, I also expect to be, to people to get serious about me and get to know me as well. It’s a two-way street. So I’m open to any conversations you want to have.

And I also have some of the work that I’ve done to kind of show people proof of product and see kind of my style of reporting and should there, if there may be on the fence about sharing what that will look like. Some of the people who have shared with me in the outcome of that, I haven’t had many complaints about anyone who has been featured in my work. So I take that very serious.

It’s something that if I’ve offended someone, it will keep me up at night. So very respectful. Yes.

So, but I’m looking forward to it. The, I can’t remember how I heard about birth there. I think I was just searching for different opportunities where I can pop up and tell people about the project and tell people, you know, more about why this is important, why it’s needed.

And I came across this and I was like, Oh, we’re so delighted to have you. We’re really happy to have you. So tell us a little more about Capital B. What is that? Yeah.

So Capital B is a nonprofit newsroom and newsrooms have kind of, I don’t want to say they haven’t recently been springing up, but late lately they’ve been coming more popular. They’re kind of like a non-traditional news organization, news outlet. When I was previously at the Houston landing, that was an example of another nonprofit, but they’re they’re nonpartisan nonprofit.

They’re they’re focused really mission driven community work. They’re about showcasing and focusing on the voices of Black people, which are often marginalized or misrepresented in news media. So they launched in 2022 and kind of with a unique product.

There’s really, there’s of course, a lot of Black independent owned media, but Capital B does a lot of the kind of hard hitting stories that people need to know and that often aren’t covered by traditional news media. And so, yeah, this is their bread and butter. So I pitched them the project and they loved it and they agreed to publish it for me.

So that’s all I needed was a publisher. They’re smart. Yeah.

So how would we reach them or how do we look them up? You can just go to CapitalB.org and it’s Capital C-A-P-I-T-A-L and then the letter B. Very good. Easy. Yeah.

Very good. So knowing everything that you’ve learned, which is quite a lot, how has that affected your perception of childbirth and and your plans to start a family? Yeah, I think, you know, they say the more you know, the better it is, but I don’t know if the more information has made it easier for me. I think I learned, not the scarier it is, but, you know, being informed is the most important thing.

That’s the thing I’ve learned the most. That’s right. But I go back and forth and, you know, I do feel much more confident and much more educated in planning.

But I’d be wrong if I say it’s still in the back of my head doesn’t scare me, you know. You know, this is this is something that has happened to Serena Williams and, you know, you’re just like, if it can happen to them, right? Right. It can happen to anybody.

Anybody, you know, regardless of socioeconomic status, class, race, religion, like, you know, it can happen to literally anyone. Makes us feel more out of control than ever. Exactly.

Exactly. But it has it has emboldened me to feel more empowered rather than scared. You know, I know now that, hey, I have the option, you know, and to make choose my provider, choose who I want.

If I don’t like a provider, I have the option to change a provider. Right. And I have the option to reject certain advances, certain services and question.

I’m a reporter, so I’m going to be questioning regardless. But, you know, it still can be very daunting to do that. And naturally, as reporters, we’re not really trained to trust people immediately anyway.

So something like this, it just makes you more informed and you feel more prepared. So it hasn’t completely scared me on the matter at all. But I thought a lot more about the incorporating doulas and midwives.

Yes. I was just going to say, making sure you have someone there that will be your voice when you’re unable to have your own voice. Yes.

Someone that will stand up and help you. Yeah, exactly. So I haven’t quite narrowed it down what that will look like.

I think I have pros and cons on each side, to be honest. Yes. You know, but I think one thing I know for certain is that I’ll at least have a doula or whatever I choose.

Yes. You know, that’s kind of what I meant as your voice. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

You’re going to have an advocate, an outside party that’s a partner, right? Wherever you birth and whoever with. Somebody that will speak for you when you can’t speak yourself. Exactly.

So. Yeah, that’s very good. So I would say by the answer to that question is that you’re still considering that you might have a family at some point.

Yeah, definitely. That’s good. It hasn’t completely scared you away.

No, I mean, it was never going to completely be, oh, we’re not doing this or. Right. It’s just, OK, we got to take our time and plan this.

And learn a little more. Right. And that’s something that makes you, I think, more responsible to in your plan.

My husband and I have had multiple conversations. We’re now just even talking about eventually getting kind of like some pre-lab work and stuff to see, because, of course, I learned about the importance of nutrition and diet and health and, you know, just fitness and health in general, how that can affect your reproductive health and could lead to other conditions, you know, in your pregnancy journey that could lead to other complications. So you just learn so much.

And so now we’re having those conversations of, OK, when we do want to start trying what that looks like from a health standpoint, what are we going to tighten? What are we going to get rid of? What are we going to, you know? Yeah. And then even talking to our doctor about getting certain lab work done to just make sure internally, you know, there aren’t there is anything that we’re not aware of. And if there is, that we can be proactive about resolving that instead of finding out later, because that’s the last thing I want to do is be surprised about something that I had control of, could have controlled.

Obviously, in childbirth, there are a lot of uncontrollables and not going to be able to control everything. But for the things that I can control, it’s going to be guaranteed. It’s going to be a provider that I know and that I trust.

And, you know, we’re going to do our due diligence to make sure we’re up to speed on our health and wellness and nutrition and reduce whatever chances that we have of having any complications. So that’s what this has the biggest impact that this has had on me. It’s the preparation.

Very good. Another question I wanted to ask you, which is kind of you’ve kind of answered it, but maybe there’s a little more is what have you learned that you wish all pregnant families knew? Oh, a lot. I would say the biggest thing is that you don’t have to take no for an answer.

Like don’t know for an answer. And just the limited unlimited options that you have. I think a lot of times people get stuck in what provider their insurance suggests or their insurance provides.

And yes, so many different alternatives, you know, and if you truly take the time to plan for a family, even financially, that can be way more reasonable and affordable than oftentimes hospitals. You know, if you if you’re able to do that and go down that route, sometimes it’s better to pay for peace of mind. Yes, it is to settle for.

And to have that voice that you might not be able to have. Exactly. So but that’s just me.

I’ve always been a quality type of person anyway, and everything I do, and all of my doctors and all of you know, the different providers that I have. Um, and I’ve started to practice that now, with other, you know, doctors, whether it’s just my regular doctor. But if I don’t feel right about that, I’ll switch, you know, like, it doesn’t matter who it is, or what, what practice, you know, they operate in or what the issue is, or what the issue is, if I get a second opinion, if I don’t like what they said, or if something was a little off.

So that’s the biggest thing that has taught me as well is just like, it doesn’t feel right, trust that and research it further and get a second opinion or see a different provider. It’s really good. One particular provider, I think it took me a couple of years before I found the right one, I went to went through like at least three.

That’s just what I needed to do. So the same thing is going to apply to this. So it’s good for people to know that that’s okay.

There’s nothing wrong with you that, that it takes, that’s what it takes to find the right one. Yeah, and that you don’t have to settle. I think that’s, that’s right.

That’s really good. Yes. Well, anything else you can think of that you’d really like the audience to know about your work about the study? I would just say that when it when it’s said all and done, this is something that I want the I hope the community is proud of, and I hope the community feels a part of like they had a hand in it, whatever the impact of the outcome may be.

You know, we don’t really as journalists do this work for the accolades and for the impact, but you know, something like this, you do hope that it impacts. Yes, it impacts change. And so I would just shameless plug say if you want to potentially be a part of like change work, like change work within this community.

And I wouldn’t, I just have to say, I really encourage you out there, if you’ve experienced, had a childbirth experience, this would be a good place to be part of that study that will make changes. So tell the audience again, where where does reach you so they can begin that process? Yeah, you can just shoot me a note, email me at Monique, that’s M-O-N-I-Q-U-E-W-E-L-C-H at iCloud.com. You can also just shoot me a DM on Instagram or X, Twitter, whatever you want to call it. That’s Mo underscore unique underscore.

So that’s M-O underscore U-N-I-Q-U-E underscore. Mm hmm. Very good.

Very good. And you can come and see her at Birth Fair, which is happening on October the 4th, from 1030 to four o’clock at United Way 50 wall drive. And you’ll be one of our 50 vendors that we’re having.

So you’ll have a table and people can come and meet you and ask you questions and yeah, we’ll probably except for my personal life, but anything else about Birth Fair that would be an advantage for people to come and meet you? Yeah, I would also say that, you know, if you’re hesitant or you’re thinking about it, that’s okay. You know, we still have time. There’s plenty of time to tap into this project.

Towards the end of the year is the targeted publication of it. But I really just want to capture as much feedback as possible. Again, there are options.

If you’re hesitant about sharing your information, your name, again, this is, I know this is sensitive stuff. This is traumatic as well. Some of it can be very traumatic.

So the purpose is not to cause further harm. It’s to be empowered and tell these stories to impact change. That is literally so.

And you just never know how to touch with your story there. You can ask some of the people that I’ve talked to, some of the midwives who’ve been featured in my work, you know, the impact and somewhat the notoriety as well that they have received from sharing their story and initially being a little hesitant. So it does require some courage.

And I recognize that to share your story. That’s how we change the world. I think the reward is greater.

Yes. So you are a world changer. And this is one of the ways that you’re doing it.

And we’re very grateful to you. Thank you. Again, one more time, just tell the audience how they could reach you.

Yep. It’s Monique Welch Rutherford. And you can email me at Monique Welch, M-O-N-I-Q-U-E W-E-L-C-H at iCloud.com. You can also text me.

I don’t mind sharing my number. That will be on my boards at birth fare anyway. 832-982-2998.

If you have any questions or just want to learn more about the project, more about the study, where it’ll be featured, more about Capital B, and more about me, you can also catch me at the birth fare on October 4th. And again, you don’t have to take the survey immediately. If you want to just ponder it, I’ll have some printouts and postcards that you can take home with you.

Think about it. Reach out to me later if you have a question. But the key to this project is hearing from people like you.

Very good. Thank you so much for what you’re doing. This is the way we change the world.

Yeah, I’m excited. Thank you. If you want to contact us, we’re always pleased to hear from you.

Our address is homeothershowatgmail.com. If you want to contact me personally, please feel free to email me at birthcareatme.com. You can listen to this show again and many, many more on homeothershow.com. For three months, you can hear the show on kpft.org archives. Thank you to our engineers. Thank you to EJ, to Edward, to Eric for all your support and help to make this show possible.

Thank you out there for listening to Whole Mother. I’m Pat Jones.