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We are talking with Professor Chinyere Oparah and Dr. Sayida Peprah, who are part of the Black Women Birthing Justice collective. Today we are discussing some of the research they have done and the report called Battling over Birth. Highlights from our discussion include the power dynamics in the birthing environment for black women, history of sexual survivor issues and how that might impact the birthing experience, empowering Black women in the birth space and some glimpses into what the Battling over Birth report recommends.\xa0\nJulia Chinyere Oparah is a social justice educator, collective leader, activist scholar, and experienced community organizer who has spent over two decades producing critical scholarship in the service of progressive social movements.\xa0Oparah is Provost and Dean of the Faculty and professor of Ethnic Studies at Mills College, and she was educated at Cambridge University and Warwick University\n\nShow Highlights:\n\nBlack Women Birthing Justice: A collective of African-American Caribbean, and multi-racial women who are sharing about the negative experiences they\u2019ve had in their maternal care and childbirth\n\nHow a negative birth experience can be turned around with a great midwife and doula team\n\nHow the actions that are being taken by medical providers are disempowering black women\n\nHow BWBJ began in 2011 with a Research Justice project, with over 100 women being open and honest about their stories\n\nBattling Over Birth: a human rights report that unpacks the stories of those 100 women and how they found themselves in conflict with their medical providers\n\nBefore the sharing circles, some of the women had no idea of what they had missed out on in their birth experiences\n\nThe comparison with this topic and the sexual survivors of the Me Too movement, and how their birth experiences are re-triggering and re-traumatizing, with further victimization\n\nHow doctors use fear-based coercion to get the women to do what THEY want\n\nThe ramifications and implications for these women, along with the potential stress and trauma\n\nThe opportunity to change the narrative and \u201cdo it differently\u201d\n\nHow to have empowerment in the birth experience, including how providers interact with you for physical exams during labor and birth\n\nHow the mental health of these women is affected\n\nThe ways we can make sure this doesn\u2019t keep happening--\u201dThis doesn\u2019t have to be normal.\u201d\n\nHow the impact of the negative birth experience bleeds over into breastfeeding\n\nHow the timelines followed in the birthing process don\u2019t take into account the stress and trauma that are added to the process\n\nWhat the report shows about the link between postpartum depression being linked to the birth experience, and not just to hormones\n\nHow those disadvantaged in race, class, and relationship status had toxic postpartum environments more frequently\n\nThe shame and judgment that black women feel in admitting postpartum depression, because they are supposed \u201cto be strong\u201d\n\n\xa0\nResources:\nProfessor Oparah: https://www.juliachinyereoparah.com/\nDr. Sayida: www.DrSayidaPeprah.com\nTo learn about Dr. Sayida\u2019s non-profit click here:\xa0www.DiversityUplifts.org,\xa0To learn more about the Black community-based doula program and COVID19 doula initiatives Dr. Sayida is working on, click here: www.FrontlineDoulas.com\xa0\nPlease find out more by reading that Battling over Birth report at Find the report here: http://www.blackwomenbirthingjustice.org/battling-over-birth\xa0\nTwitter @birthingjustice\nInstagram @birthingjustice\nFacebook:\xa0\nhttps://www.facebook.com/pg/Black-Women-Birthing-Justice-216928328357571/posts/?ref=page_internal