Politics of Childbirth
By Miriam Pérez, radicaldoula.com, feministing.com May 7, 2009 - 3:00pm
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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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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By Miriam Pérez, radicaldoula.com, feministing.com March 19, 2009 - 7:00am
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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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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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 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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By Anna Clark, RH Reality Check July 22, 2008 - 7:00am
Recent opposition from the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists frustrates efforts of midwifery advocates to ensure safe and available home births for pregnant women who want them.
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By Miriam Pérez, radicaldoula.com, feministing.com July 7, 2008 - 7:00am
When the media covers the rising rate of c-section, it’s often ready to lay the blame at the feet of a woman we’re come to know well over the last few years -- the busy career mom scheduling her delivery between important business deals. But while some moms may be requesting surgical birth, research shows that has little to do with the overall increase in c-section rates nationwide.
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Currently, Missouri midwives must have a nursing degree and work under a doctor's supervision -- otherwise, they are committing a felony. A Senate bill under consideration would expand women's birthing options -- but the Missouri State Medical Association is fighting back.
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By Erin Wilkins, Family Tree Clinic January 31, 2008 - 8:38am
The same oppressive cultural mechanisms that restrict women's abilities to make decisions about when to have children also affect their decisions regarding where, how, and with whom to birth those children.
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