Progressing the Culture of the Birth Industry | Margo Blackstone

In today’s episode, we talk with Margo Blackstone, an independent midwife and co-creator and co-director of the Indie Birth organization and midwifery school. Margo had a unique introduction into the birth industry, studying criminal justice and applied criminology and how midwives were legislated out of practice all over the world in the last 100 years. She shares how she became an independent midwife, and how her high blood pressure restricted her from the home birth option. We discuss the nuances about the laws surrounding the practices of licensed and unlicensed midwives. We talk about the importance of not restricting choices for women, and the impact of being able to find the right midwife or provider for you. We talk about educating our children and what having conversations about birth with our kids might look like. We talk about teaching kids when to use anatomical terms, as well as teaching radical consent and body autonomy, especially for our daughters. We talk about putting your personal fears and concerns behind you and honoring the preferences of a woman, as well as when to know to honor your own boundaries as a care provider. We talk about what you can say if you notice that your provider is putting their personal needs before your own needs and wishes with your body. We speak about how many women want the care that hospitals provide, but if we were all on board with radical consent, many problems could be prevented and needs would be protected.  We talk more about the midwife-client relationship, emphasizing that there is a provider for everyone. We discuss the importance of interviewing midwives, and key questions you can ask to determine if you’ve found a good fit. We invite you to visit https://indiebirth.org if you want to learn more, as well as http://www.indiebirthmidwiferyschool.org if you’re interested in becoming a midwife. 

• 4:10 Preserving Autonomous Midwifery 
• 15:18 The Impact of Having “The Right Midwife for You” 
• 20:08 Teaching Kids About Birth
• 29:23 Honoring Women’s Choices About Their Bodies 
• 42:39 There’s a Provider For Everyone 

“If you’re choosing an OB, do you realize that they’re probably not going to actually be the provider that’s there on the day of birth? Continuity of care is one of the biggest issues, I think, in the U.S., currently, in terms of birth culture and the way we do birth — that people don’t have that continuity with somebody through pregnancy, the birth, and postpartum. It’s so piecemeal…I think so much birth trauma comes from that mismatch, and sometimes you don’t even know what questions to ask.” 17:29

Email Margo With Any Questions: margo@indiebirth.org

https://birthcircle.com

For Any Questions, Email Me at media@birthcircle.com