Birth Activism Workshop for White and/or CisHet Doulas

(especially those serving clients just like them)

Study after study sites the rising infant and maternal mortality rates in the United States, noted most exceptionally among people of color. Put succinctly, black birthing people and babies are dying at alarming rates, while the American healthcare industry seems to be at a loss to figure out why.

There is a lot of shoulder-shrugging among people in positions of power and privilege, but very little definitive action. In spite of statements released by ACOG and other bodies, there has not been substantial systemic change in how birth is managed in medical settings. More to the point, the medical establishment writ large has made minimal effort to change -- or even acknowledge -- the systems of power and oppression that lead to negative outcomes. 

Birthworkers, and particularly white birthworkers, have a unique opportunity to make substantial change in this regard. By educating our clients towards increased self-advocacy, and by demanding better of providers, we shift the power imbalance and move toward meaningful patient-directed care in a hospital setting. 

This workshop will guide white birthworkers in navigating the power imbalances and systemic oppression apparent in medical institutions, and will review the role of white birthworkers in taking responsibility for promoting truly intersectional feminism in birth and postpartum contexts. Topics will include: 

• Cultural Humility
• Barriers to Patient-Directed Care
• Patient Rights… and Responsibilities
• Advocacy
• Disarming Aggression
• Using the Grievance Process
• Community Activism

This workshop is not for passive learning... attendees are expected to be active participants in examining microaggression, implicit and explicit bias, internalized racism, and institutional racism. Participants will be expected to complete assigned readings in advance, and come prepared to delve into difficult and uncomfortable topics. The intended outcome is improved individual accountability, and an increased understanding of tools and options for activism in the birth and postpartum context.

This workshop is open to participants of any race, religion, gender, ethnicity, preference, and background; however, we recognize that listening to white doulas process these issues may be triggering and or traumatizing to some. Please feel free to email the organizer with questions about the workshop and its goals and intended outcomes.

[Note 1: Workshop has been approved for 6 DONA CEUs; approval code #820. Also approved for 4.5 IBCLE L-CERPs; verification #C1991305.] 

[Note 2: All proceeds from this event will go to MomCares, a project of The Rising Mama brand that provides postpartum doula services to single, low-income mothers of Color in the NICU in and around Baltimore, MD.]