Today we talk to Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins, birth educator and practicing OBGYN. She has been involved in over 1000 births over the last 15 years, and contributes to ongoing birth education through courses on her website (https://drnicolerankins.com/) and through her podcast, All About Pregnancy and Birth (https://drnicolerankins.com/podcast/)

We then talk about how prenatal education helps to protect the choices of birthing women. We mention how U.S. hospital birth has a history of misogyny and racism that we are still battling today. We talk about being an informed participant in prenatal care and knowing the questions to ask a provider to ensure quality of care. We talk about how women should feel okay with switching providers whenever they want. We discuss the availability of childbirth education and how there are a lot of low cost resources that anybody can access.

We talk about pain management in birth and how epidural  generally wont be held back from women who want it. We discuss about writing out your birth wishes so that your provider can help to integrate them in your labor as well as possible. We brush on how to make sure that your wishes are honored. We also talk about how to adapt birth plans for COVID restrictions.

Finally we talk about the affects of racism on the birth world. We talk about the rate of maternal mortality in black women, and some of the warning signs of postnatal complications that need attention. We talk about how taking the concerns of black mothers seriously can help to reduce mortality.  We talk about persistence is important in seeking postnatal care.

To learn more, visit https://drnicolerankins.com/

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