The "mansplaining" of maternity care: How male doctors took over childbirth

Modern maternity care has been shaped by male perspectives ... and this "mansplaining" of childbirth has sidelined women's psychological safety.

One result? Higher rates of birth trauma.

In this special bonus episode, Grace hears from two midwives, Prof Cath Chamberlain and "Melanie the Midwife" (The Great Birth Rebellion), about how childbirth was taken from women’s hands and reshaped through male-dominated medicine, including through colonisation.

We learn how maternity care could better respect women’s choices and reclaim birth as a woman-led experience, including through Birthing on Country Initiatives.

The idea: To preserve the gains of medical science, while centring women's agency and wellbeing. (This shouldn't be a zero-sum game!)

Plus: Dr Melanie Jackson shares some practical tips on self-advocacy for women facing childbirth, and we examine some of the key takeaways from the recent NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Birth Trauma.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode mentions birth trauma and systemic racism.

Guests in this episode:

• Dr Melanie Jackson (aka "Melanie the Midwife") hosts the popular podcast The Great Birth Rebellion and has a PhD in Midwifery.
• Prof Cath Chamberlain is a Professor of Indigenous Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. Descended from the Trawlwoolway people of Tasmania, Prof Chamberlain is a registered midwife and member of the National Women's Health Advisory Council.

Resources for this episode:

• "Birth Trauma" (Report No. 1), NSW Parliament - Legislative Council, Select Committee on Birth Trauma, May 2024.
• "Your Birth, Your Voice," Birth Trauma Australia, 2024.
• "Dehumanised, Violated, and Powerless: An Australian Survey of Women's Experiences of Obstetric Violence in the Past 5 Years,"  Hazel Keedle et al, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University.

• "Study finds one-in-ten Australian women have experienced obstetric violence," Western Sydney University, 6 December 2022

• "We’ve been giving birth ALL WRONG," The Dark History of Childbirth (YouTube, Bailey Sarian)

• Birthing on Country: Closing the Gap for Indigenous Health, Charles Darwin University, Molly Wardaguga Institute for First Nations Birth Rights.
• "The Miracle of Birth", Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Universal Pictures, 1983.
• Matthew Broussard, "Guy-naecology" (Facebook)
• Dr. Harini Bhat @tilscience (TikTok)
• Friedman's curve explainer, Melanie the Midwife (Facebook)
• "Birth trauma is a 'silent pain' suffered by one in three women," Grace Jennings-Edquist, ABC Everyday.