Politics of the Womb: Are choices in childbirth a luxury?

Childbirth is a primal event and as such is rife with political meaning and conflict. It has been an arena where power struggles have been played out for centuries, if not millennia. We take it for granted now that a woman’s right to choose is an important ideal. However, in maternity care the rights of women are regularly ignored, often brutally. How does this transgression of human rights play out in women’s lives? Do women have the power to change the way they give birth? And if they do, which women actually have the means to do so? Who really has the right to choose? Are women’s rights in childbirth dictated by their skin color, class, and social status? Physicians, midwives and doulas have a window into this process and play an important role in maintaining or changing the status quo. But how many of their actions also contribute to the oppression of women during the childbearing year?

Guests:

Rivka Cymbalist has been involved in women’s health issues for many years. She is passionate about reproductive justice and health care for marginalized women and children and is director of Montreal Birth Companions, providing free doula services to refugee and immigrant women. Rivka is a certified doula and a CPM.

Ana Milic recently started volunteering at Montreal Birth Companions. She originally hails from Serbia and recently worked with Eastern European immigrants and refugees. A single mom of two wonderful boys, Ana currently works at the McGill University for Lifelong Learning. Her interests include education, lifelong learning, healthy food and healing practices.

Moderator:

Alex P. Megelas is into researching the power of DIY tek communities, doing sports-for-the-people and drawing water-colour maps of dungeons. He's in a band called Best Friends. He bikes around town. He has cats.