The Birth Activists

The last episode in this series covers the controversial topic of vaginal birth after caesarean.

Louise tells her birth story of having a home waterbirth after two previous caesareans and Rosalie talks about how she opted for a freebirth after a previous caesarean. If you are considering your options after a caesarean birth then this episode is sure to inspire you!

Check out Louise's birth story blog here: https://www.mothers-spirit.co.uk/post/homebirth-after-2-cesareans-hba2c-louise-s-story

For support and information when considering a home birth, check out Sam's Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216384699270443

In this episode we chat with Lucy Baena, a doula and disabled parent, about ableism in maternity services. Lucy is so insightful and eloquently summarises the disparities and discrimination within the maternity & health services when it comes to being disabled and pregnant and a disabled parent.

If you would like to share your story as a disabled parent with Lucy, please contact her by email: [email protected]

Go check out Lucy on social media here: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/557718875072578/

http://www.instagram.com/lucybaenadoula

Sam and I were very lucky to be joined by trans-parent, Jacob, and his 'pocket midwife', Maeve in this episode. Jacob talks candidly about his experiences as a pregnant trans person and about the birth of his first child. Maeve and Jacob are two members of The Queer Parenting Partnership who support LGBTQ+ people from conception through to pregnancy, birth and parenting.

A bit more info about TQPP:

We run regular antenatal and postnatal classes, details and booking information is available on our website at parentingqueer.co.uk. We also have a free monthly zoom meet up for families.

We are now launching our training for professionals: "Providing perinatal care for people of all genders". We are taking bookings from the autumn and will also release some dates for individuals to book on to.

We are on facebook, twitter and instagram as @parentingqueer

Kati Edwards aka ‘The Poetry Doula” joins us in this episode with an exclusive first reading of her new spoken word piece, 'The A to Z of Childbirth Activism'. 

Kati is also a hypnobirthing teacher, a doula and an international speaker helping parents-to-be to really understand their birth options so they can discover what path is the best for them. She helps people create great birth experiences. The birth of Kati’s 2nd child featured on the groundbreaking BBC1 documentary ‘Childbirth All or Nothing’ and she has appeared on BBC 5Live and BBC Family and Education discussing how doulas can help people give birth after previous traumatic experiences.

https://www.facebook.com/KatiEdwardsBirthkeeper

https://www.birthyouinlove.com/

Allison Tate (she/her) of Birthworkers for Human Rights (previously known as Doulas for Human Rights) joins us in this episode to talk about birthwork in the US, racial disparities and birth activism during the pandemic.

Allison is a Scottish, holistic, spiritual, birth and bereavement birthkeeper, birth rights activist, birth advocate, birth educator and energy worker, living in Florida.  She provides trauma informed support for births in all trimesters, all outcomes and for all birthing people.  She holds herself accountable for addressing white supremacy, racism, inequity, disparities and obstetric violence in reproductive care, for reducing harm, trauma and perinatal illness and for facilitating change.  She can be found across social media platforms @backtobirth @birthworkersforhumanrights 

Birthworkers for Human Rights:

https://www.instagram.com/birthworkersforhumanrights/

https://www.facebook.com/birthworkersforhumanrights

https://www.facebook.com/groups/521810432102477

Back to Birth:

https://www.instagram.com/backtobirth/

https://www.facebook.com/backtobirthsbd

https://www.facebook.com/groups/252781502682771

https://twitter.com/backtobirth

Stacie is a parent who navigated being autistic and pregnant during the pandemic. She joined us to tell her story.

Stacie found Sam's Homebirth Group really helpful - you can join the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homebirthsupportuk

You can buy Sam's birth affirmations here: https://caerphillydoula.co.uk/e-shop/

April is Autism Awareness Month and, in this episode, we are joined by Lana Grant, author of "From Here To Maternity, pregnancy and motherhood on the Autism Spectrum". We talk about the difficulties and discrimination autistic women and birthing people face when pregnant and accessing maternity services, including how the pandemic has impacted their rights.

Lana is a Specialist Advisor and advocate for people with autism and their families. She has worked within the field of autism for nearly twenty years and specialises in autism and females. You can find out more about Lana here.

Amanda Burleigh, midwife, joins Sam and Becki to talk about cord clamping - a very informative episode you won't want to miss!

Amanda started campaigning for optimal cord clamping in 2005 with the Wait for White campaign. After years of practicing immediate cord clamping as a midwife, Amanda realised that there was no evidence to say this was safe for baby and, on the contrary, she found research which shows immediate/ early cord clamping deprives the baby of 30% of their blood volume and could cause harm. 

Find out more about Amanda and the #WaitForWhite campaign here: https://waitforwhite.com/

In this episode we talk to Safura and Faiza, founders of The Raham Project. The project is dedicated to supporting maternal mental well being for mothers and their partners of ethnic minority backgrounds. 

Here is a link to the FIVEXMORE '6 steps' as mentioned in the podcast: www.fivexmore.com

Follow them on social media: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Sam and I are joined in this episode by the lovely Aimee Hamblyn. We discuss the sacred work of the Doula with Aimee and touch on subjects such as Religion, abortion and being queer. We just LOVE how Aimee refers to birthwork as 'Spiritual Activism' and we all enjoyed delving into this deep, meaty subject. We are sure you'll love this episode as much as we did!

Find out more about Aimee on her website here: www.aimehamblyn.co.uk

Follow Aimee on instagram @aimee_hamblyn

Check out Aimee's spiritual work on Facebook @loveconnectiontransformation - she has a NEW course running this summer!

Aimee is also a Developing Doulas Course Leader and is training new Doulas this summer, check out the course here: www.developingdoulas.co.uk