Listen in as Heather Barson shares with Michelle the journey that brought to her vocation as a doula, midwife, and advocate for birthing families. She confides to Michelle the goose bump moment that inspired her to create the Coalition for Ethical Maternity Care during COVID-19. Heather has dedicated herself to assisting families to understand their options in maternity care and helping them to preserve their autonomy in the process.

"[As a birthing person]... use your voice. You matter. Your needs matter. And your needs matter more than anyone else's in the room. And if your care providers aren't willing to acknowledge that, then you need to either find other care providers or find some sort of tool to help communicate that better. You have a lot more power than you think you do and now is the perfect opportunity for you to step up and use it. Even if it is terrifying. I promise you, that it will be a far more valuable experience if you do step up and push through that fear and have your needs met. Because you're worth it" —Heather Barson

About Heather Barson:

Heather is an independent midwife and doula practicing in Northeast Utah. She also provides various placenta services, including at-home placenta stem cell consulting. Seeing her rural community was in need of more doulas, and the local hospitals were somewhat hostile to the few professional doulas in the area, she co-founded the Uintah Basin Doula Association. With this organization, she and her colleagues befriended the hospitals so their clients would get better care, advertised heavily on behalf of doulas in general so professional doulas could charge what they were worth, and began training and supporting professional doulas locally. Seeing another need during the COVID-19 pandemic, she recently founded the Coalition for Ethical Maternity Care, a national organization open to all problem-solving members of the maternity care team. With it she hopes to see more facilities model their COVID-19 maternity care policies after facilities that choose reasonable and respectful precautions over ones that are harmful to mothers and babies.

Connect with the Coalition for Ethical Maternity Care:

Website: ethicalbirth.org

Facebook: Coalition for Ethical Maternity Care

Email: ethicalbirth@gmail.com

Connect with Heather Barson:

Facebook: Sacred Space Midwifery- Uintah Basin

Email: heatherbarson@usa.com

Connect with Michelle Smith:

Website: BirthEaseServices.com

Facebook: Birth Ease, The Birth Ease Podcast

Instagram: @ birtheasemichellesmith

YouTube: Birth Ease

LinkedIn: Birth Ease Michelle Smith

Show: Birth Ease