Stay ConnectedBirthright, hosted by Kimberly Seals Allers, a podcast about joy and healing in Black birth. By seeking out and exploring positive birth stories we can find ideas, solutions and blind spots in our quest to make the birth experience equitable for all Black birthing bodies.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Guests: Chanel Porchia Albert, Ancient Song Doula Services; Linda Jones, Black Women Birthing Justice; Quatia Osorio, Urban Perinatal Education Center; Dr. Sayida Peprah-Wilson, Frontline Doulas
Episode Description: The truth is, while we wait for the medical system to confront and change its dangerous practices, it’s Black birth workers who are picking up the pieces of the infant and maternal health crisis. Doulas, midwives, and community workers punch the clock day in and day out to ensure we survive and thrive in our birthing experiences, but who’s taking care of them? In this special roundtable discussion, Kimberly sits down with Black women doulas from around the country who are leading the charge for better compensation and representation on a legislative level all while trying to care for themselves and their fellow sisters in birth work. Pull up a seat. You don’t want to miss this much needed conversation about the state of joy in Black birth work.
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundationand the Commonwealth Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Guest: Deidra Washington
Other Guests: Mike Washington
Episode Description: Having a plan for pregnancy and parenting comes in handy. But what happens when things move differently than expected and you have to make adjustments? Deidra Washington and her husband Mike know all about scrapping plan A and finding the beauty in plan B. In this episode, the Florida-based mother and father of two girls get real with Kimberly about facing fears, ditching tradition, and loving hard for the next generation. Grab your tissues because you might find yourself getting teary-eyed listening to this couple’s story of teamwork, family, love, and future-building.
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundationand the Commonwealth Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode Description: Narratives are powerful. They can influence policy, shift cultural norms, and drive systemic change. What about the narrative in Black maternal health? How do we shift the mainstream narrative in Black birth and breastfeeding away from doom and gloom and negative statistics to centering joy and possibility? What is needed, who is missing and quite frankly, will the powers in Hollywood ever let us own this narrative? In this episode, Kimberly talks with New York Times best-selling author, award-winning writer and producer, Tonya Lewis Lee, whose most recent work, Aftershock, takes a compelling look at the Black maternal mortality crisis.
About Guest, Tonya Lewis Lee:
Tonya Lewis Lee is an award-winning producer, entrepreneur, and advocate for women’s health. She has produced several TV projects including The Watsons Go To Birmingham[7] which Lewis Lee wrote, The Giver, She's Gotta Have It and MONSTER. Back in 2009, Tonya produced Crisis in the Crib, a documentary about the nation’s unconscionable Black infant mortality crisis, centered in Memphis Tennessee. This year, she co-produced Aftershock, now streaming on Hulu, a powerful documentary which follows the stories of two amazing men whose lives are forever changed by Black maternal deaths. Follow @aftershockdoc on Instagram.
For more resources, visit www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Catch up on episode extras from season 1 and 2 on BIRTHRIGHT’S YOUTUBE PAGE!
Subscribe to be notified for new episode releases every Wednesday! Love Birthright? Leave a rating and review.
Get full episode details and transcripts on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Follow Kimberly Seals Allers on Twitter on Instagram: @iamKSealsAllers
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundationand the Commonwealth Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Guests: Roslyn J. Smith, Safiya Rayford, Raena Granberry
Therapist: Saleemah McNeil
Episode Description: In this first Restoration episode of season 2, reproductive psychotherapist and CEO of Oshun Family Healing, Saleemah McNeil, and host Kimberly Seals Allers gather at SaksWorks Flagship in NYC to provide Black women who’ve experienced medical-related trauma space to heal. The three Black women who joined the conversation virtually include a woman who received racist comments from an OB/GYN. Another who was neglected by her midwife, which resulted in a full-term stillbirth. And a third who had her concerns ignored and lost her baby after a premature delivery.
For more resources, visit www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Catch up on episode extras from season 1 and 2 on BIRTHRIGHT’S YOUTUBE PAGE!
Subscribe to be notified for new episode releases every Wednesday! Love Birthright? Leave a rating and review.
Get full episode details and transcripts on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Follow Kimberly Seals Allers on Twitter on Instagram: @iamKSealsAllers
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Birthing Person: Teddy Atim, Mary Harper Holly
Other Guests: Helen Zimba
Episode Description: This week, we’re examining the stigma against pregnant and birthing people living with HIV and centering the challenges and realities of healthy, joyful births even with a diagnosis. Host Kimberly Seals Allers follows the journeys of two HIV-positive mothers—Teddy, a mother of three living in rural Uganda, and Mary, a mother of one based in Fort Worth, Texas. Find out how both mamas overcame miseducation and judgment in their communities surrounding their HIV status and gave birth to HIV-negative children.
Resources/References
For more resources, visit www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Catch up on episode extras from season 1 and 2 on BIRTHRIGHT’S YOUTUBE PAGE!
Subscribe to be notified for new episode releases every Wednesday! Love Birthright? Leave a rating and review.
Get full episode details and transcripts on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Follow Kimberly Seals Allers on Twitter on Instagram: @iamKSealsAllers
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundationand the Commonwealth Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Birthing Person: Leslie Fickling
Other Guests: Chanel Stryker-Boykin, Doula; Paul Ryan, CEO of Just A Baby; “Dave,” anonymous donor
Episode Description: Society puts a stigma on Black single mothers, stereotyping and devaluing them. But what happens when you become a single mother by choice and choose sperm donation as your pathway to parenthood? This week’s guest, Leslie, used an app, a cup and a Black male donor she met in person to get the baby she so wanted. In this insightful conversation, Leslie takes host Kimberly Seals Allers on a lesser-told journey of reaching Black motherhood in a less traditional way, but still ultimately finding her joy.
For Resources/References, visit www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Catch up on episode extras from season 1 and 2 on BIRTHRIGHT’S YOUTUBE PAGE!
Subscribe to be notified for new episode releases every Wednesday!
Love Birthright? Leave a rating and review.
Get full episode details and transcripts on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Follow Kimberly Seals Allers on Twitter on Instagram: @iamKSealsAllers
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What is our birthright? This is the question that host, Kimberly Seals Allers, asks every guest at the conclusion of every episode. And the answers have varied from inspirational, tear jerking, compelling and raw. Enjoy this compilation of our team's favorite answers to, What is our birthright? Whatever it is, we're reclaiming it one story at a time.
Resources/References
Learn more about having a safe and empowered birth by downloading the free ebook: Birth with Irth: A Mini-Manual to Pregnancy and Childbirth for Black People
Get full episode details and transcripts (posted by midday) on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
New episodes are released every other Wednesday!
Subscribe now!
Follow Kimberly Seals Allers on Twitter on Instagram: @iamKSealsAllers Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Birthing Person: Aquarius Watkins
Other Guests: Dr. Joy Baker, M.D., OB/GYN
Episode Description: While rural communities around the country—like LaGrange, Georgia—are battling limited maternity care access, mothers like Aquarius Watkins, are still striving for joyful birth experiences. With the help of a local Black OB/GYN, here’s how Aquarius advocated for herself and manifested her dream birth. Come join host Kimberly Seals Allers as she travels into the community south of Atlanta where mothers and perinatal physicians are working together to center joy and healing.
For Resources/References, visit www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Birthing Person: Christina Elmore
Other Guests: Kimberly Durdin, LM, CPM, IBCLC
In this week’s episode, Christina Elmore, actor (Twenties, HBO’s Insecure) and mother of two, takes us to her second birth for a ride through her expectations, fears, and A-ha moments as she found Black birthing joy in Los Angeles. In a hopeful and hilarious conversation with host Kimberly, along with insightful commentary from her midwife, we also explore how Hollywood (including her role as Condola) is helping rewrite the narrative of Black motherhood.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Birthing Person: Kayden Coleman
Other Guests: Nadine Ashby; Queer, Trans Birth Worker & Educator
A powerful season two launches with Kayden’s story, a Black trans father of two daughters who reclaimed his birthright during his second birth. After a series of hurtful experiences during his first birth, Kayden discovered doulas who educated him and empowered him to voice his desires when he gave birth to his second daughter. In the midst of it all–including social media hate from others and poor care from medical professionals, he shares how he ultimately found joy in creating life and became a viral advocate for reproductive rights of other trans males. Listen in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
RESTORATION: Healing Black Birth Trauma
Birthright is about joy and healing in Black birth. In this special episode, we heal. Listen in to our live virtual event and special season finale where two Black moms, one who experienced disrespect and harm in her birth and another who lost her baby after a premature delivery, sit with a therapist and a healer to begin their restorative process.
Guests:
Resources/References
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Compilation of insights from our host, Kimberly Seals Allers and guests
Resources/References
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our Birthing Person: Carla Williams, MD
Other Guests: Kiki Jordan, Midwife
Episode Description (short/two sentences)
What happens when a medical insider opts to give birth outside the hospital? For one, we should all pay attention. In this week’s episode, Dr. Carla Williams, a Black Latina OBGYN in New York, shares why she had her first birth at the hospital and never went back for baby number two, and as we spoke days before she was about to give birth to her third child, she was preparing for another home birth. Many people think home births are for the “crunchy granola” crowd but more and more mainstream mamas, including corporate types and even medical professionals have seen the in-hospital experience and choose to find their joy at home. Dr. Williams also shares tips for those considering a home birth and advice to her OB/GYN colleagues on what they can do to improve the birthing experience for Black people.
Resources/References
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who: Kimberly Seals Allers Birth story
Alma Seals, Kimberly’s mother
Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens
Dr. Neel Shah
Episode Description (short/two sentences):
On this special episode, Kimberly Seals Allers interviews her mother to hear her own birth story, discusses the history of medical interventions, the role of feminist movements and the power of our matrilineal birthing line. Special guests, historian Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens and Harvard professor, Dr. Neel Shah, add powerful context to the birth practices in the early 1970’s and how the legacy of enslaved Black women still impacts birth outcomes today.
Resources/References
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who: Allegra White
Keith White, Husband
Kalle White, Daughter
Episode Description
In our episode today, our guest Allegra, a Doula and mother of 5, was so determined to not be at the hospital for long she ended up delivering her baby girl in the front seat of her car, with her husband and 11-year old daughter on assist. In addition to sharing this particular birthing experience, we reminisce on her four beautiful births, including twin girls, giving birth the first time at 19 years old, and all the birthing knowledge she has accumulated along the way. For Allegra, knowledge of her body and the birthing process was her pathway to joy.
Resources/References
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Giving birth to twins during the pandemic can be stressful enough. And too many Black women feel like they do not have meaningful relationships with their OB/GYN. So when Folashade Butler, of the metro Washington D.C. area, found herself delivering her twins earlier than expected and in less than ideal circumstances, she found comfort and felt more confident mostly because of one thing--her relationship with her doctor. And it was her OB/GYN, who helped her birthing video go viral. Listen to find out why!
Episode Description: My guests today are Folashade A. Butler, a woman in tech, speaker and mom of four, her husband Brandon, and Dr. Lynne Lightfoote, MD FACOG, a physician with Foxhall OB/GYN, whose response to Folashade’s birth caught everyone’s attention. Before her viral post-delivery moment, Folashade shares what it was like receiving prenatal care of twins during the pandemic, how she responded to her water breaking just as she was about to enter a restaurant and why she ended up delivering in an operating room. You’ll also learn about the special candle that Folashade brings to every birth and why.
Resources/References
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Black birthing needs healing. Too many Black women and birthing individuals are left holding trauma and unresolved hurt due to the mistreatment, dismissiveness, or disrespect they endured during the childbirth experience. It’s time to model healing journeys for those carrying birth trauma, so we can all find joy! In our first Birthright Live episode, I sit down with two Black mamas who are holding trauma and a psychotherapist, specializing in birth-related disorders and anxieties, for an unforgettable journey to restore and heal from their traumatic birthing experiences. The episode features tips for everyone to start their own healing journey and reminds us that watching others heal can be healing for all.
Who: Sasha Winslow, MS, FNP-BC, RNC-MNN, @sashalovesbooks
Alisha Liggett, MD, Founder of Empower Her Health @happyhealthydoctoralisha
Nneka Symister, LCSW, @Nneka_symister
Resources/References
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who: Angela Lewis, Mother, Actress, Activist
Erica McAfee, Founder of Sisters in Loss
Episode Description (short/two sentences)
There can be joy even after disappointment, shame and loss. It often requires the right perspective and a supportive birthing team that still honors your vision even when plans change. This week, actress Angela Lewis, a star of FX’s SnowFall, shares her birth story including how prior miscarriages shaped her experience. Our special guest, Erica McAfee, founder of Sisters in Loss, shares the facts about miscarriages and why we are so bad at processing pregnancy loss as a society/as a people. In the end, Angela’s birth culminates with a moment of true star power.
Resources/References
Get full episode details and transcripts (posted by midday) on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who: Anna Malaika Tubbs, author of The Three Mothers, First Partner of Stockton, CA
Michael Tubbs, Former Mayor of Stockton, CA
Mika Cade, Doula
Episode Description
Anna who has lived in four countries, is a PhD candidate at Cambridge University and served as First Partner for the city of Stockton, CA. but when it came to pregnancy and childbirth, Anna went looking for a community of support. How do three doulas, three mothers and all the ancestors come into play? In this episode you’ll hear Anna’s powerful birth story and how she tapped into power she didn’t know she had to deliver her son Malakai. Not only was giving birth her entré into motherhood but it was also a pivotal turning point in Anna’s scholarship and the inspiration for her first book, The Three Mothers. Turns out, we can learn a lot about having a positive birth experience from three doulas, the three mothers and learning from our ancestors. Listen to learn! And then check out the video of Kimberly’s full interview with Anna about her new book where they discuss the dehumanization of Black mothers, and why positivity is such a powerful force in narrative change.
Resources/References
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What does it take to have a positive birth experience? Apparently, depending on where you live, it can take a lot of time searching for the right provider. In this episode, Morine shares her beautiful birth story after moving from the Durham, N.C. to Knoxville, TN mid-pregnancy and her quest to find a provider who looked like her. Along the way I explore the history and impact of Black women Ob/GYNs, the standard of care white women receive, and how digital platforms are helping to level the playing field.
Check out HealthInHerHUE.com, a digital platform connecting Black women and women of color to culturally competent healthcare providers.
Looking for a Black provider? Check out the Association of Black Women Physicians, Black Doctors USA or the search portal at BlackDoctors.org as a starting point.
Learn more about having a safe and empowered birth by downloading the free ebook: Birth with Irth: A Mini-Manual to Pregnancy and Childbirth for Black People
Get full episode details and transcripts (posted by midday) on www.BirthrightPodcast.com
New episodes are released every other Wednesday! Subscribe now!
Follow Kimberly Seals Allers on Twitter on Instagram: @iamKSealsAllers
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this episode of Birthright, Kimberly Seals Allers interviews Whitney Robinson, a design-loving product manager and mother of four. As with her other children, Whitney planned a home birth, but 25-weeks into her pregnancy she went into premature labor and, with her husband and support team, she was determined to turn the unthinkable into an unapologetically Black experience.
Resources/References:
Birthright is funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Birthright, hosted by Kimberly Seals Allers, a podcast about joy and healing in Black birth. By seeking out and exploring positive birth stories we can find ideas, solutions and blind spots in our quest to make the birth experience equitable for all Black birthing bodies.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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