Birth Allowed Radio

Birth Allowed Radio

Give birth on your own terms.

Episodes

Ep. 38 - Filing a Hospital Complaint | Dr. Tracey Vogel

November 23, 2020 • 58 mins
"I’ve got to turn around and go back and dig in to make it better for others." In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, I speak with Dr. Tracey Vogel, an obstetric anesthesiologist from Pittsburgh who specializes in preventing birth trauma and re-traumatization during birth for people with abuse histories. As part of this care, Dr. Vogel mentors people through the process of filing complaints to hospitals about violating, traumatic...
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Ep. 37 - "Advocacy is putting the birthing person first" | Sabia Wade

June 29, 2020 • 54 mins
* Recorded October 2019 * In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio I am honored to speak with Sabia Wade, a Black, queer, full-spectrum doula in San Diego. She is the owner of Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings, and Executive Director of For The Village, a reproductive justice non-profit providing free doula services to low-income and marginalized groups in the San Diego Area. We dive into the topic of advocacy and doulas - includi...
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Ep. 36 - Giving Birth in 1979 - Michelle Pascucci, Cristen's Mom

May 29, 2020 • 49 mins
As I celebrated my birthday this month, I realized I had never really talked to my mother about my own birth story. Join me in reliving that experience with my mom, Michelle Pascucci, as she recalls what it was like to give birth - and feed a newborn - in 1979. While she had a great experience with childbirth education, there were times in the hospital she wished she was provided more guidance. “When they said ‘do you want an epid...
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Ep. 35 - From the Doulas: Expert Advice for Birthing Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 27, 2020 • 61 mins
We are really in the midst of some major disruption for birthing families, in an already fragile healthcare system. In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, I called on two seasoned doulas and members of the Birth Monopoly "Know Your Rights" community to provide a grounded and strategic perspective for the families who need it most. Miri Halliday of Spokane, WA is a birth doula and childbirth educator, and Lisa Gould Rubin of Burli...
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Ep. 34 - "I Love My Scar" | Melissa Pizzo on Why Cesarean Moms Need Doulas, Too!

August 21, 2019 • 51 mins
Melissa Pizzo has had four babies by Cesarean, and four completely different experiences! With her last birth, a scheduled Cesarean, she knew what she wanted and she made sure she got it. That included hiring a doula to hold emotional space for her and her husband in the OR. How ever babies are born, it's a special and sacred time, and one where the emotional, psychological, and social needs of the person giving birth should be p...
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Ep. 33 - "We Are Changing the Conversation on Doulas & Advocacy" | Doula Trainer Nickie Tilsner

June 26, 2019 • 46 mins
Advocacy, burnout, self care, sustainability, and the patriarchy--they're all in this episode! Our guest is Nickie Tilsner, the co-executive director and lead trainer of Cornerstone Doula Trainings, and co-author of RE:BIRTH - The childbirth preparation guide for all people to have an informed, dignified and joyful birth in any setting (due for release early Fall). Also announcing a first-ever collaboration between Birth Monopoly...
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Ep. 32 - "I'm not vulnerable any more." | Katherine DiPaulo on Alleged Sexual Assault During Labor

June 13, 2019 • 52 mins
**TW: Alleged Sexual Assault and Birth Assault** This is Katherine DiPaulo's story. She alleges she was sexually assaulted by an obstetrician at a Philadelphia-area hospital in 2005. She has not been able to hold him accountable. Ms. DiPaulo would like to connect with other victims. If you have experienced sexual assault in your obstetric care in the Philadelphia area, please get in touch with us at birthallowedradio@gmail.com...
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Ep. 31 - Support After (Home) Birth Loss | Mother Ada Johnson and Midwife Sarah Butterfly

May 15, 2019 • 48 mins
What do you do when someone in your life has a stillbirth? In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, Ada Johnson talks about losing her baby Button during birth and the aftermath of that event, and, along with her midwife Sarah, shares how providers and others can respond sensitively when someone experiences a stillbirth. I want to thank both Ada and Sarah for coming on the show and delving back into this deeply personal experience ...
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Ep. 30 - “I’m not here to please everybody” | Author Janelle Hanchett

May 2, 2019 • 49 mins
Janelle Hanchett is the author of “I’m Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Recklessness, Rehab, and Renegade Mothering,” out in paperback May 7, 2019. In this episode, we talk about the politics of motherhood and why the idea that controlling our bodies in birth is controversial. Janelle also talks about 'how I discovered I am white' (her excellent post of that title is at her Renegade Mothering blog here: https://www.renegademoth...
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Ep. 29 - After Sexual Assault by OB, "I Found My Voice & I'm Not Stopping" | Marissa Hoechstetter

March 11, 2019 • 49 mins
Marissa Hoechstetter is one of more than 17 women currently suing Columbia University and its associated hospitals for a 20-year "massive coverup" of Ob/Gyn Dr. Robert Hadden's sexual abuse of patients. In this episode, she talks about her long path to justice for the sexual assaults she suffered at Dr. Hadden's hands, getting his name off her daughters' birth certificates, and her ongoing advocacy for transparency in physician con...
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Ep. 28 - "It was like torture." C-section Without Adequate Anesthesia | Amy Woods

February 1, 2019 • 53 mins
In a town with one hospital and two doctors, Amy Woods describes her labor and subsequent surgery without pain medication. She also talks about the effects on her and her family afterwards and the hospital's response to the incident. "The doctor said I had to have a c-section because I wasn't progressing. They were kind of, a little messy with the reasons for the c-section. As they were taking my husband to get him all dressed fo...
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Ep. 27 - "As a Doula, I Felt Like A Witness to Rape" | Kirsten Clark

December 21, 2018 • 55 mins
Alabama doula Kirsten Clark talks about an intense experience watching obstetric violence happen right in front of her, and how her practice has evolved as a result. * TRIGGER WARNING FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND OBSTETRIC VIOLENCE * The doctor walked in, put on gloves, and stuck both hands into the laboring mom’s vagina. There was no consent. He didn’t tell her was going to do that or ask if she was okay with it. Moments later, he ...
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Ep. 26 - "I Couldn't Scream Out": A Non-Consented Cesarean | Jennifer Smith

December 4, 2018 • 50 mins
In this emotional episode, Jennifer Smith describes having a Cesarean without consent after medical staff ignored her decision to have a vaginal birth rather than repeat surgery, and her trauma afterwards. "I'm numb from the waist down and I have no idea what they're doing to my lower body. I'm just this object lying on a table for them to cut up. And they don't care. And I can't scream out. Because I don't think anybody's goi...
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Ep. 25 - "They Wouldn't Let Me Call it Assault" Part 2 | Anon. Nurse

October 15, 2018 • 35 mins
WARNING: This story includes graphic detail and may be difficult to listen to. Part 2 of 2: In this stomach-churning episode, nurse "Britany" describes witnessing what she describes as a violation and assault on a laboring woman: a so-called "manual episiotomy" by the doctor--a move she discovered was routine for him. Find out what happened when she tried to report the incident up the chain of command. This is Part 2 of Britany'...
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Ep. 24 - "They Wouldn't Let Me Call it Assault Because We Need to Protect the Doctor" | Anon. Nurse

October 5, 2018 • 33 mins
WARNING: This story includes graphic detail and may be difficult to listen to. Part 1 of 2: In this stomach-churning episode, nurse "Britany" describes witnessing what she describes as a violation and assault on a laboring woman: a so-called "manual episiotomy" by the doctor--a move she discovered was routine for him. Find out what happened when she tried to report the incident up the chain of command. This is Part 1 of Britan...
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Ep. 23 - After Non-Consented C-Section, "I'll Be Damned if It Happens to Anybody Else" | Sara Conrad

September 15, 2018 • 51 mins
Sara Conrad worked in the marketing department at the hospital where she gave birth in Northern California. The last thing she expected was to have a life-changing trauma there. “I love doing C-sections, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get one.” Sara immediately felt unsupported when a doctor she’d never met responded to her birth plan by telling her she loved performing Cesareans, and the nurse seemed terrified that Sara w...
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Ep. 22 - "My Injury is Forever and a Lifetime" | Kimberly Turbin

August 30, 2018 • 45 mins
Kimberly Turbin made headlines and history when she sued her doctor for assault when he gave her a medically unnecessary and botched episiotomy during the birth of her child. The case was resolved in 2017, but Kimberly is still dealing with the effects of the assault. In this episode, Kimberly recounts not only her experience, but the aftermath of the trauma she experienced in 2013. “I posted the video just to see if I was crazy o...
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Ep. 21 - Birthing While Black in Alabama | Sabrina Azemar

August 5, 2018 • 62 mins
Trying to find support for a vaginal birth after a c-section (VBAC) can be a struggle; when you are black, overweight, on Medicaid, and in Alabama, it can be almost impossible. Our guest Sabrina Azemar recounts her difficulties convincing her maternal care providers to "let" her do what pregnant bodies have been doing for centuries. Sabrina is the mom of 3 children, and a breastfeeding and cloth diaper advocate who loves to teach ...
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Ep. 20 *Full Episode* - Plus Size Birth | Jen McLellan

July 13, 2018 • 50 mins
Normal, healthy births happen every day, and for women of every size. And yet birth care professionals often alienate plus-size moms-to-be with shaming, inadequate equipment, and mistreatment. In this episode of Birth Allowed Radio, we talk about plus size birth and how to find a practitioner who will treat you like a person, not a risk factor. My special guest is Jen McLellan, of www.plussizebirth.com. “My midwife was the first ...
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[Mother May I Series] Ep. 19 - Clinicians & Preventable Birth Trauma | OB Insider Dr. Tracey Vogel

June 10, 2018 • 54 mins
During pregnancy and birth, trauma can happen. Dr. Tracey Vogel, an OB anesthesiologist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania talks to us about the stories of such traumas – especially those related to anesthesia and surgery – that she will be featuring in her upcoming book, and how the medical community can help prevent further birth trauma. > “There is a big gap between how providers think they are doing, and how patients think those pr...
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