Introduction

This blog is a web-based presentation for a project I am pursuing in a course for Women's Studies at Western Kentucky University. I am a graduate student in the Women's Studies Graduate Certificate Program, a program that is delivered in a distance-learning (online) format, and for which I am in the process of completing my 5th course, out of a total of 6.

This project is a Social Change Project, one which will help to develop a series of actions based upon a feminist issue that I feel is important. Since I have been a childbirth professional for 5 years, working as a doula and childbirth educator, I have seen the unfortunate disadvantages of a system that denies women basic rights to informed consent and bodily autonomy during the births of their babies. I have always been a feminist, and in fact I am pro-choice in a wide variety of ways, so I believe that women know what is best for them and have the right to decide what to do with their bodies (and those of their babies). In the arena of childbirth, this issue has become particularly prominent to me, as I struggle to help women to feel empowered by the choices they make while they often experience patronizing dictation over what actually happens to them during this vulnerable time.

I have also noticed that the population of women that is most vulnerable to this type of patronization is the population that is often overlooked--women of a higher socioeconomic status, often Caucasian, relatively more educated, and who are generally more involved in the decision-making process in their lives. This is ironic, because feminist focus usually focuses on those who are disadvantaged, while the "privileged" are overlooked. As part of this project, I hope to help illuminate why this is so--the brief summary is, however, that profit and acculturation to respecting authority are prominent in this cycle of vulnerability during childbirth.

In full disclosure, I am an independent birth professional, having never been employed by any organization for this work. I am not a doctor, a nurse, or a midwife, although I have completed some independent study in the field of midwifery. I am certified as a childbirth educator through Lamaze International and the HypnoBirthing Institute. I am also certified as a Massage Doula by the Institute of Somatic Therapy. I have recently joined the board of directors for Birth Network National, as a regional representative and (hopefully) blog contributor. My current graduate studies are mainly in the field of clinical psychology, where I have an interest in biological responses to stress, as well as depression, anxiety, and postpartum mental health.