Free Birth - Exploring Autonomy In Childbirth

In honor of Black Maternal Health Week, we have doula- turned -Radical Birth Keeper, Olivyah Bowens, from Baltimore, Maryland on the show today. Olivyah is a mother of two, a perinatal community health worker, a holistic birth educator, and a graduate of Free Birth Society’s Radical Birth Keeper School. After learning about the atrocious maternal mortality rate of Black women in the United States, Olivyah committed herself to understanding why Black women were dying. Olivyah walks us through the intersection of racism and healthcare, and how it directly, and obviously, negatively impacts Black women and their families.  Olivyah will also provide historical context of racism in OB/GYN and how that links to institutional racism in health care today. Join us in an important conversation around epigenetics, implicit bias, the importance of women seeing themselves reflected in their birth team, and to learn about the far- too -often subhuman treatment of Black women and their babies, in the system. Olivyah also s