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Politics of Childbirth

Health Care Reform Will Improve Maternity Care

By Maureen Corry, Childbirth Connection

August 27, 2009 - 7:00am

Maureen Corry's picture
Childbirth Connection has thrown its support behind the House's health care reform bill because it takes a big step toward widening access to evidence-based maternity care.

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New York Gov. Paterson Promises to Sign Anti-Shackling Bill

By Emily Douglas

August 18, 2009 - 12:45pm

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A spirited group of protesters gathered outside New York Gov. David Paterson's office today elicited the governor's promise to sign legislation that would prohibit the shackling of incarcerated pregnant women during labor and after delivery.

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Birthing Chains: Anti-Shackling Rally in New York

Reader diary posted by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

July 6, 2009 - 10:20am

Anna Clark's picture

Only four states have policies that bar the shackling of pregnant women in prisons, jails, and detention centers.
With nearly unanimous legislative support for the Anti-Shackling Bill,
New York looks like its on the verge of becoming the fifth state to
restrict a practice that is considered torture by the United
Nations--but only if Governor Dave Paterson allows it into law. Urge Governor Paterson to sign the bill at the Anti-Shackling Rally on July 9.


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Barriers to Home Birth Fall in Washington State

By Miriam Pérez, radicaldoula.com, feministing.com

May 7, 2009 - 3:00pm

Miriam Pérez's picture
Thanks to a history of expansive access to midwifery care and a number of big legislative gains, low-income women in Washington State now have more birthing options than most women around the country.

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Breast, Bottle, and the Beauty of Motherhood

By Amie Newman, Managing Editor

May 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Amie Newman's picture
This Mother's Day, instead of lining up on one side of the breast- vs. bottle-feeding debate or another, let's question why society isn't providing mothers with more options to make the decisions mamas believe are best for them and their babies.

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The Cost of Being Born At Home

By Miriam Pérez, radicaldoula.com, feministing.com

March 19, 2009 - 7:00am

Miriam Pérez's picture
Upwardly-mobile moms may finally be catching on to the benefits of midwifery and homebirth, but low-income women are still firmly planted in the hospital, most often with medicalized births overseen by doctors.

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Can We Please Stop Blaming Women for C-Sections?

By Jennifer Block, RH Reality Check

January 21, 2009 - 3:27pm

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Women are not "electing" to put their babies at risk by choosing c-section. Women being backed into a corner and told what's best, then publicly shamed for "asking for it."

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Midwives Deliver

By Jennifer Block, RH Reality Check

January 6, 2009 - 8:00am

Jennifer Block's picture
America is overspending and under-serving women and families. The problem is not access to care; it is the care itself.

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Poland Says No to Pain-Free Childbirth

By Anna Wilkowska-Landowska, RH Reality Check, Eastern Europe

November 28, 2008 - 8:00am

Anna Wilkowska-Landowska's picture
Poland is struggling with record low numbers of women having children. So why would the Minister of Health suggest that the national health care plan no longer fund anesthetization during delivery?

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