4: The nightmare of childbirth in a patriarchy

Liberating Motherhood

Bringing life into the world should be a source of immense power--and often, it is. But in a patriarchy, we endeavor to destroy women's power. This is why patriarchy has turned childbirth into a dangerous, traumatic nightmare. Learn about the state of childbirth, and what you can do to push back--and why it's a partner's obligation to protect and support the person giving birth.
Zawn and Jeff have extensive professional and personal experience with this issue. With their first baby, they had to navigate a sudden change in hospital policy designed to prevent them from having the natural birth Zawn wanted. Their second baby died at birth, and a postpartum hemorrhage nearly claimed Zawn’s life, too. And with their third, the intersection of trauma and a complicated birth required lots of advocacy in a system that often punishes such behavior.
Zawn runs a small nonprofit devoted to defending the rights of all people who give birth. And as a civil rights attorney specializing in police and prison abuses, Jeff has seen the worst of how our criminal justice system abuses pregnant people.
In this episode, we give a broad overview of the issue, and will discuss other angles in more detail in subsequent episodes. We also give some general tips for advocacy in a broken system.
Readers may find the following links helpful for framing and understanding the discussion:

• Men, not hormones, are the leading cause of postpartum depression
  
  
• You’re Wrong About Postpartum Depression
  
  
• 8 Shocking Statistics About Abuse and Mistreatment of People in Labor
  
  
• Doctors are examining the vaginas of unconscious women without their consent
  
  
• 10 things you need to know about Georgia’s maternal mortality crisis