logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
50m 18s

S23 E6: Dignified Maternal Care with Dou...

Broken Cycle Media | Wondery
About this episode

*Content warning: death, infant loss, pregnancy and birth trauma, medical trauma, medical neglect, racism


*Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.com/resources   


ABC’s new show, Familicide: https://www.familicide.net/


Melissa Espey-Mueller's North Dallas Doula Associates:

Website: https://www.northdallasdoulas.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northdallasdoulas/ 


Moms Advocating For Moms

S23 survivors Markeda, Kristen and Amanda have created a nonprofit, Moms Advocating for Moms, in hopes to create a future where maternal well-being is prioritized, disparities are addressed, and every mother has the resources and support she needs to thrive: https://www.momsadvocatingformoms.org/take-action

https://linktr.ee/momsadvocatingformoms 


Please sign the survivors petitions below to improve midwifery education and regulation in Texas:

https://www.change.org/p/improve-midwifery-education-and-regulation-in-texas?recruiter=1336781649&recruited_by_id=74bf3b50-fd98-11ee-9e3f-a55a14340b5a&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink 


Malik's Law 

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4553 

M.A.M.A. has helped file a Texas bill called Malik's Law, which is intended to implement requirements for midwives in Texas to report birth outcomes in hopes of improving transparency and data collection in the midwifery field in partnership with Senator Claudia Ordaz. 


*Sources:

Best Doula

https://bestdoulatraining.com/ 


CAPPA

https://cappa.net/training-certification/ 


DONA International

https://www.dona.org/ 


Madriella

https://madriella.org/ 


ProDoula

https://www.prodoula.com/ 


American College of Nurse Midwives

https://midwife.org/ 


American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

https://www.acog.org/ 


A Brief History of Midwifery in America

https://www.ohsu.edu/womens-health/brief-history-midwifery-america 


CDC, Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2023

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2023/maternal-mortality-rates-2023.htm 


CDC, Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality

https://www.cdc.gov/womens-health/features/maternal-mortality.html 


Geospatial distribution of relative cesarean section rates within the USA

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9284873/ 


In Mexico, Midwives Offer Care Rooted In Ancestral Tradition

https://www.pih.org/article/mexico-midwives-offer-care-rooted-ancestral-tradition 


Insights into the U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis: An International Comparison

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/jun/insights-us-maternal-mortality-crisis-international-comparison?utm_source=chatgpt.com 


March of Dimes

https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/about-us 


Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries 


National Midwifery Institute

https://www.nationalmidwiferyinstitute.com/midwifery 


North American Registry of Midwives (NARM)

https://narm.org/ 


Racism During Pregnancy and Birthing: Experiences from Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latina, and Middle Eastern Women

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9713108/ 


Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)

https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/ 


US Has Highest Infant, Maternal Mortality Rates Despite the Most Health Care Spending

https://www.ajmc.com/view/us-has-highest-infant-maternal-mortality-rates-despite-the-most-health-care-spending 


What is a freebirth?

https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/what-is-freebirth 

*SWW S23 Theme Song & Artwork: 

Thank you so much to Emily Wolfe for covering Glad Rag’s original song, U Think U for us this season!

Hear more from Emily Wolfe:

On Spotify

On Apple Music


https://www.emilywolfemusic.com/

instagram.com/emilywolfemusic


Glad Rags: https://www.gladragsmusic.com/ 

The S23 cover art is by the Amazing Sara Stewart

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Today
S24 Ep16: Attack Therapy
*Content Warning: distressing themes, violent abuse of a child, step-parent abuse, domestic violence, abduction, kidnapping, childhood abuse, emotional violence, physical abuse, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and institutional child abuse (‘troubled teen industry’). *Free + Confid ... Show More
56m 5s
Oct 1
S24 Ep15: Source of Hope
*Content Warning: distressing themes, self-harm, suicidal ideation, substance use disorder, child sexual abuse, child abuse, verbal abuse, mental abuse, physical violence, cultic abuse, suicidal ideation, grooming, torture and death. *Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 25
S24 Ep14: Horror Movie
*Content warning: disturbing abuse of children, disability abuse, emotional and physical violence involving children, murder, death, suicide, neglect, kidnapping, abduction, isolation, torture, distressing topics. *Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.co ... Show More
47m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Ep. 428 In Conversation with Women's Health Advocate Paula James-Martinez
Today we chat with Paula James-Martinez, a passionate women's health advocate and founder of the non profit The Mother Lovers. Currently working with our friends at prenatal vitamin company Needed, she's a talented writer and producer who recently directed the birth documentary B ... Show More
41m 22s
Apr 2025
Get Smarter with Blair Imani...The creator of Smarter in Seconds on Finding Love, Surviving Pregnancy Loss, and the Power of Social Media for Black Maternal Health.
The Mamas are joined by Blair Imani, creator of Smarter in Seconds, to talk about everything from working at Planned Parenthood to going viral in 2020 with her powerful, bite-sized videos. She also opens up about her experience with pregnancy loss and how she's currently trying t ... Show More
39m 18s
Oct 2024
Breaking Barriers in Maternal Care: Hyperemesis Gravidarum and Beyond with Dr. Aimee Brecht-Doscher | MaternalRx
Register for the Hyperemesis Gravidarum (ICHG2024) on November 6-7, 2024 now! www.hyperemesis.org/ichg2024/registration/ In this episode of MaternalRx, host Danielle Plummer, PharmD, speaks with the inspirational Dr. Aimee Brecht-Doscher, a pioneering Obstetrician and Gynecologis ... Show More
37m 26s
Sep 2024
The Midwife’s Confession: Eye Investigates
For the last thirty years Indian journalist Amitabh Parashar has been investigating why a group of midwives in his home state of Bihar were routinely forced to kill baby girls. In a series of shocking interviews, the midwives explain what happened and how a remarkable social work ... Show More
51m 10s
Jul 2019
Ep27: In Home Newborn Care & Breastfeeding Support with Dr. Sonal Patel
My guest on this episode of the All About Pregnancy & Birth podcast, Dr. Sonal Patel, is doing some pretty amazing things to revolutionize care for both moms and babies during the postpartum period. She has a unique model of care where she provides in home care for newborns in th ... Show More
45m 18s
Aug 5
Birth Is Not a Medical Emergency: The Fight for Autonomy in Women’s Health with Dr. Stuart Fischbein from Birthing Instincts
In this powerful episode, Dr. Stuart Fischbein—renowned OBGYN, midwifery ally, and co-host of the Birthing Instincts podcast—unpacks the truth behind modern obstetrics, the rise in unnecessary interventions, and what it really means to trust your body during birth. We explore my ... Show More
1h 44m
Mar 2024
Inside a Hospital’s Abortion Committee
Sarah Osmundson knows how to talk about abortion. She’s learned over the course of her career as a maternal-fetal medicine doctor that some patients are comfortable with the option, and others would never consider it. Osmundson is a physician in Tennessee, a state with one of the ... Show More
24m 29s
Sep 15
Patricia Lockwood, SEND rally, Maternity review, Kathrine Switzer
Patricia Lockwood is a poet, memoirist and novelist whose work straddles the literary world and the wilds of the internet. Patricia first went viral with her traumatic poem Rape Joke, while her memoir Priestdaddy, about being the daughter of a Catholic priest, has been called a m ... Show More
57m 40s
May 2024
Hope and Help for Taboo Topics in Postpartum Care :: Krystle Howald [Ep 467]
Did you know that once you are postpartum you are always postpartum? Do you have issues from pregnancy, birth, or c-sections that have followed you and don’t know where to turn? Do you know that only 4% of parents are getting the movement that they need?  Today Krystle Howald, a ... Show More
56m 43s
Sep 30
Ep.2: The Angel of Death
Kristen Gilbert has had her first taste in what it’s like to harm someone in her care. Her thirst grows when the newlywed mom gets her first nursing job at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts. It's a hospital filled with vulnerable patients giving her the opport ... Show More
46m 5s