Today's topic is an incredibly important one: obstetric violence. I know it sounds a bit heavy, but it's something that all of us - expecting families, doctors, midwives, doulas, and people in society - should know more about.  I'm excited to be joined on this episode by Cristen Pascucci, an incredibly dedicated advocate and activist for human rights during childbirth. She has a number of projects, including Birth Monopoly and Mother May I (a documentary about obstetric violence), that are working to reduce the amount of birth trauma that mothers are currently experiencing around the world. Cristen and I cover a lot of ground in this episode - we talk about what exactly obstetric violence is, whether it's different from birth trauma, and why it's so common. We also talk about what you can do if you have experienced obstetric violence and what we need to do in the health care system and beyond to move to a more patient-centered care model for expecting moms. In this Episode, You’ll Learn About: What obstetric violence is and how it relates to birth trauma How medical providers and other birth professionals can put patients through obstetric violence Why you shouldn't be afraid to change your birth professional if you aren't getting the care you want Why we have to examine not only individual instances of obstetric violence, but our systems as well What you can do if you have suffered  birth trauma as a result of obstetric violence Why you should know that you can absolutely heal from birth trauma What Cristen likes to tell expecting families so they get to have the birth experience that they want Links Mentioned In The Episode How To Make A Birth Plan That Works - Free Online Class! The Birth Preparation Course Cristen Pascucci | The Birth Monopoly | | Facebook | Instagram  ​Ep #3: How to Be Sure You Have the Right Doctor ​Ep #4: Choosing the Right Hospital to Give Birth Birth Allowed Podcast Exposing the Silence Project ImprovingBirth Mother May I There Is a Hidden Epidemic of Doctors Abusing Women in Labor, Doulas Say from VICE Join my email list here!