What happens when your home birth is derailed? In this episode of the podcast Birthright, one mother shares her experience with changing at-home birth plans
lack women in the United States are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to reports from the. Amid this epidemic, there is a need for joyful and celebratory birthing stories within the Black community.
That is why award-winning journalist and author Kimberly Seals Allers created the Birthright podcast in 2021. As means to"reclaim joy, respect, and positivity as a birthright," the podcast explores the beautiful journey of pregnancy, life, and parenthood, without trauma at the center. In season one, episode one, Whitney Robinson, wife and mother of four, shares her story of planning for another at-home birth being derailed when she goes into premature labor and is forced to give birth in the hospital. Despite this unexpected turn of events, Robinson can reclaim her joy and even dance while she's in labor.
"I'm hoping that they see that the woes of Black women in birthing aren't always the case," Robinson said."These are the things I hope they see, and these are the things that give me joy… I had another Black woman midwife, a midwife that was with me in the hospital, and a Blackity-Black Black man who was surrounding me."