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birth community Equity Trauma

National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1701888370897{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (December 6) hits a bit different for me this year. On December 6, 1989, 14 young women were murdered at Polytechnique Montreal. The women were pursuing degrees in engineering. Their murderer felt that by entering into a male profession these women were usurping a place in society that rightfully belonged to him. He ordered their male peers from the room at gunpoint to make sure we knew this was about hating women.

Earlier this year, doulas were targeted for gender-based violence because of their career choices. In this instance for choosing a feminized profession, the intimate and sexualized nature of which could be exploited by a fraudulent predator. As a result of the persistent efforts of the fraudster’s victims, she was arrested in March of this year and the situation did not escalate to worse violence. Still, I’m left with many questions about the climate of fear, suspicion, and infighting that existed within the doula community for months while police and other organizations that are supposed to protect the public did nothing to stop this person’s malicious, harmful behaviour. This despite so many incidents where woman-hating behaviour has escalated to femicide.

In Sault Ste. Marie in October, a known perpetrator of intimate partner violence murdered 5 people, including 3 children, adding momentum to a national call for gender-based violence to be declared an epidemic. We at Doula Canada wholeheartedly support this call, and add our voices to it. As birth workers, we know that pregnancy and postpartum are vulnerable times. Existing IPV often worsens, and in many instances, this is when it starts.  

Our own safety also matters in doing this work. We are often behind closed doors, in people’s homes, providing intimate care one-on-one. It’s not constructive to approach care work from a place of fear. Statistically, our clients are more likely to be victims of violence rather than perpetrators. However, one of the most disturbing things I learned from events earlier this year is that there is a casual normalization of sexual harassment in this field. Several people posted about having their time wasted by solicitation from fetishists posing as birth clients, as though this was simply par for the course. Privately, I’ve heard stories of doulas being sexually harassed by a client’s partner in the client’s home, and not knowing of any options for recourse. Earlier this year, when birth workers were being targeted, many birth workers focused on the perpetrator’s well-being rather than the well-being of a growing number of victims.

The reason for this attitude is the same as the reason why some jurisdictions (such as the province of Ontario) have refused to declare GBV an epidemic. And it’s the same reason why opportunities to stop the perpetrator in the Sue before he killed were missed. GBV occurs in the context of normalized systemic misogyny. Even in a profession aimed at reducing reproductive violence for our clients, we’ve forgotten to expect more for ourselves.

Alongside growing our conversation about GBV in relationships, we need to shine a light on occupational GBV. In other fields where home visits are carried out by a largely feminized workforce (e.g. nurses, social workers), trainees are given guidance on spotting red flags, mitigating risk, and acting to effect accountability. We’re going to start doing that here at Doula Canada. On Jan. 23 we will open this much-needed conversation by hosting a webinar on GBV in birthwork and how we can take charge of our community’s safety. We owe this to ourselves and each other. 

Webinar Details Here: https://stefanie-techops.wisdmlabs.net/training/webinar-gender-based-violence-in-support-work/

It is fitting that Women’s Remembrance Day falls within UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. For ideas for actions you can take against GBV check on this resource on Canadian Women Foundation’s #ActTogether Campaign. https://canadianwomen.org/acttogether-campaign/

*If you are unfamiliar with the events of earlier this year that I reference in this article, you can learn more about that here: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a44866427/kaitlyn-braun-doula-pregnancy-accused-fraud-harassment/

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1701888381111{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Anti-Oppression community Trauma

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1701109787897{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]For our observance of UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we reflect on how doulas are involved in ending obstetric violence at the individual and systemic level. Reflecting on this year’s theme, we call on governments and insurance providers to Unite and Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls by funding better access to doula care.

Where we need to go

As doulas, companions, and birth keepers, we know in our bones that our presence alleviates the challenges of birth and new parenthood and supports people to have joyful, transformative experiences during this major life event. 

A growing body of research supports our intuitive knowledge. Doula care is an effective perinatal intervention that reduces the need for medical interventions, including c-sections, decreases low birth weight and preterm births, and improves satisfaction with childbirth and postpartum well-being, among many other benefits. These benefits have the biggest impact on families adversely affected by the social determinants of health, including low-income, and racialized people (Cidro et al., 2023; Greiner et al., 2019; Kozhimannil et al., 2016; Marshall et al., 2022; Ramey-Collier et al., 2023; Robles, 2019; Thomas et al., 2023; Wodtke et al., 2022; Young, 2022).

Yet, despite this, only 6% of birthing families receive support from a doula. Doulas are usually paid by families out of pocket, and care is not usually available to the populations for whom having a doula might have the greatest impact.

Some exciting changes are happening in the United States. Starting from around 2020, several studies found that racialized birthers and newborns experienced much poorer outcomes than their white counterparts, including an increased likelihood of death. This disparity was most significant for black people. These studies opened a floodgate of conversation about a Black maternal health crisis in the US. State healthcare systems are under significant political pressure to find solutions. Doula care is seen as a critical intervention that improves outcomes for racialized birthers and babies, and many Medicaid-funded doula programs are emerging (Rochester, Delaware, Michigan).

Sadly, Canada is lagging in finding innovative ways to make doula care accessible. One reason for this is that it is harder for researchers and advocates to demonstrate similar racial disparities because Canada does not collect race-based data. There is ample anecdotal evidence that Black and Indigenous people experience the same medical racism that has been identified in the US, but individual accounts can’t provide the level of “proof” that makes a strong case for funding.

That being said, a recent study by obstetrician researchers at McMaster University learned that birthers in Canada experience a high rate of operative vaginal deliveries (forceps or vacuum) and has higher rates of 3rd and 4th-degree tears than any other high-income country (CTV, 2023). Continuous support from a doula during childbirth reduces the need for interventions like operative deliveries.

Call to Action for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25)

Whether you are a birthworker, a birther, or a concerned citizen, you can add your voice to the call for better access to doula care by doing two things:

  1. Write or call your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and let them know you want coordinated public funding for doula care in your province’s healthcare plan. 
  2. If you have extended health coverage, call your insurance carrier and let them know you would like doula care to be an insured healthcare expense. More insurance companies covering doula care would make this support accessible to many more families.

Birthworker Affirmations for 16 Days

We use affirmations to buoy our clients, but what about using them to protect ourselves from burnout as we extend compassion to clients and act for systemic change? As part of our observance of 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence, we offer these 16 affirmations to support you on your birth work journey.

  1. My work humanizing birth humanizes communities. The merits of this work are limitless.
  2. My practice of self-compassion is integral to my ability to extend compassion to my clients.
  3. Changing one life changes everyone’s life. By supporting each person I honour our interconnectedness.
  4. My actions can make a difference.
  5. I will manifest the village I need to support me to continue manifesting change for birthers and families.
  6. By facilitating a non-judgemental space, I play an invaluable role in creating a safe space.
  7. By creating a sacred space for birth, I bring great joy to families, which increases my own joy.
  8. When I remember to take a deep breath, my client is reminded to breathe deeply.
  9. With collaboration and determination, we can realize humanized, empowering birth for all families. 
  10. My acts of service provide a blanket and a shield to families at their most vulnerable.
  11. My compassionate presence and loving words are a powerful antidote to suffering that can exist within birth, making space for more joy.
  12. By inspiring birthers and families to believe that physiological birth is possible, I play a tangible role in making physiological birth attainable.
  13. I will preserve my energy for the real struggle. 
  14. It is a blessing to walk alongside families during this intimate and transformative time, for which I am deeply grateful.
  15. With deeply rooted compassion, I can be a willow or an oak in service to my clients’ needs.
  16. With the birthwork community’s diligence, one day all births will be humanized births. I am honoured to be a part of this movement.

 

Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.

 

We invite you to practice with the ones that resonate with you. Please share any of your own affirmations that would support the birthwork community.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Anti-Oppression community LGBTQ2S+ Trauma understanding bias

Trans Day of Remembrance

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1700318432768{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Trans people’s existence is not an ideology. Transness is a natural and inevitable aspect of the wondrous biological and social diversity of human beings. As humans engage in a debate about whether or not some humans get to use bathrooms, attend school safely, and read stories to children, much of the panic regarding “gender ideology” is fueled by myths and misinformation that appear to have taken off like the wildfires that plagued us this Spring and Summer. 

Like wildfire, these myths are dangerous because they kill. Trans youth are at 7.9 times the risk of attempting suicide and 4 times more likely to be the victims of violent crime than their cis counterparts. Those who lose their lives to violence continue to be overwhelmingly trans, Black women. That’s why November 20 is Trans Day of Remembrance.

Here are some of the most toxic myths fanning the flames of fear and hate, followed by the facts that can douse those flames.

Myth 1: People come in two kinds, male and female. 

Fact: There is ample scientific evidence that human biology is far more complex than inny equals girl, outie equals boy. 

MRI-based studies show that the putamen (the region of the brain that controls cognitive functioning and other tasks) in trans people differs from structural norms that are consistent with their assigned gender and more closely resembles their felt gender. (Flint et. al. 2020; Clemens et. al. 2021)

Epigenetics is the emerging science regarding how different genes in our biological makeup get switched on and manifest. This epigenetic study found that since all human embryos start with the potential to be male or female, hormonal variation during sex differentiation can cause genetic changes that cause a person’s gender to be different from their sex.   

I’m a science junkie and I could go on with articles about hormone receptor mutations and genetic perspectives. But I think you get the idea that the biology of transness is a lot more complicated than the primer we got in grade school.

Myth 2: People who think their gender is different from their biological sex are mentally ill.

Fact: Well, technically being trans is a mental illness. The 5th edition of the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual (DSM-V), a compendium that provides diagnostic criteria for all mental illnesses, refers to transness as “gender dysphoria”. There is consensus among the mental health professionals that write the DSM that the appropriate treatment is supporting the person to live as their felt gender. Receiving a diagnosis and treatment for gender dysphoria is an involved process. It takes years to be approved for interventions like surgery. People under the age of 16 cannot receive permanent interventions like surgery. As the emerging biological science suggests, the classification of “gender dsyphoria” as a mental illness is controversial in trans communities. For now, people have to meet the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-V to receiving gender-affirming healthcare.

Myth 3: Trans people are emerging because of the new “gender ideology”.

Fact: While some of the terminology being used is relatively new, people whose gender experience differs from biological “norms” have always existed. Research shows that over 150 Indigenous nations on Turtle Island recognized a third gender before colonization. Indigenous communities were by no means unique. For example, hijras in South Asia have been recognized as a gender group dating back to the 1200s. Similarly, in pre-colonial Uganda, there was the mudoko dako.

Myth 4: Talking about trans people in schools “sexualizes children” and “grooms them” into becoming trans.

Fact: As the facts above demonstrate, trans people have always been here. People are born trans as a result of complex biological factors. The kind of experience they have is determined by society’s attitude toward them. In the pre-colonial societies I mentioned above, trans people were honored and respected members of their communities leading secure and productive lives. Talking about trans people will not make more of them magically appear. Explaining sexual and gender diversity to kids is no more inherently sexual than explaining heterosexual marriage. Failing to talk about LGBTQ+ people won’t make them go away. However, silence will make people more unsafe.

It’s fitting that November 20 is also National Child Day. The goal of the day is to open dialogue about the vulnerability of children and what we can do collectively to keep them safe and honour their rights. Telling kids the truth is how we can keep them safe. Treating all people with dignity and respect is how we create environments where kids feel safe to be themselves. Arming kids with the language to talk about their bodies and experiences is how we keep them safe from actual groomers. Building up their confidence and self-respect is how we keep trans kids alive and well.

 

Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.

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Categories
birth community Trauma

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1698759996931{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Let Clients Know You are a Safe Person to Disclose to about Intimate Partner Violence

“For one-quarter of women who experience DFV [Domestic and family violence], the violence begins during pregnancy. Where violence was previously occurring, it escalates in frequency and severity during pregnancy and early motherhood.” (Baird et. al., 2021)

Based on this disturbing truth, Baird and many other researchers recommend that all pregnant women be screened for intimate partner and domestic violence. There is a fair amount of controversy and debate within international healthcare systems and among individual providers regarding whether or not to implement this recommendation. 

Unfortunately, vulnerable pregnant people and children are caught in the middle of that debate. In Sault. Ste. Marie on Oct 24, 2023, 5 people including 3 children were killed due to domestic violence, renewing calls for intimate partner violence to be declared an epidemic.

We can avoid getting bogged down by debate and discomfort and put the well-being of birthers and families first by being a safe zone for clients to disclose IPV and other trauma. Here are some strategies I’ve used universally to let clients know they can tell me about domestic abuse. I can’t go into details for obvious reasons, but suffice it to say, these strategies work.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments about what you’re doing to support clients to open up about abuse and violence.

Create a Cone of Silence

When couples retain my services, my welcome email explains how each individual can communicate with me confidentially. The email is clearly a template, so it’s obvious that I’m not putting that out there for personal reasons. 

Then I initiate a chat with the birther via a communication channel that is obviously exclusive to them and me, usually a chat with a cell phone number that I know is theirs. This strategy isn’t perfect since many abusive partners closely monitor the victim’s communication channels. Still, including this in the welcome email normalizes situations where information should not be shared between partners.

Ask Everyone About Stressors

I ask clients to complete my intake questionnaire individually rather than as a team. The questionnaire invites the client to share about stressors in their home environment. I’m aware that not everyone might answer a question as blunt as “Are you being abused by your partner?” candidly, especially with someone they are still getting to know. Additionally, abuse can take many shapes and often goes unrecognized. Clients disclose a range of domestic issues in response to this question. Even if nothing is shared at that time, it sends a clear message that I am open to talking about practical, social, and emotional aspects of their pregnancy journey.

Leverage One-on-One Moments

Some things come out much more easily face-to-face than they do in other ways. Unfortunately, our work prenatally and postpartum often occurs while both members of a couple are present. I take advantage of times when the birther and I happen to be one-on-one to initiate conversations about the birth and postpartum life. I let all of my birthers know that while I’m here to support them as a team, the buck stops with them. If I have to make a choice, I’m ride or die for the birther. 

Have Resources at the Ready if Someone Discloses Abuse 

However the birther decides to handle the situation, I make sure I know about local resources that can support them in that choice. This encompasses therapists, organizations that support women to develop safety and escape plans, community legal clinics, and food security resources. 

 

For folks in Ontario, contacting the Assaulted Women’s Help Line is a great way to start figuring out your options to address intimate partner violence. 1.866.863.0511

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1698759879666{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”520952″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Anti-Oppression birth Canada community Equity Trauma

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1698093869318{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]The rising cost of food and collective grocery store anxiety rest on a bed of other precarious conditions. The price of everything has gone up. We are still seeing empty shelves in stores “post” pandemic as we head to the mall in shorts on a 33-degree October day. There are numerous causes for feeling uncertainty.

When society gets taken for a ride, children come right along with us. As someone who works with babies and families, on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty I’m reflecting on the fact that 50% of the world’s children are affected by poverty. 

Most of these children are not where I am sitting, in a high-cost-of-living, high-standard-of-living urban centre in Canada. However, people where I am are still afraid of not having enough, and it’s making many people afraid to start a family.

These fears are justified. Raising children is expensive, and we are facing a food crisis, a housing crisis, a climate crisis, and a healthcare crisis. People and families live in a lot of isolation which makes feeling secure challenging. Poverty has a significantly adverse impact on outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth, and on how all aspects of your life go from there.

Support from a doula reduces the risk of many of the adverse outcomes that poverty increases the risk of. Sadly, individuals who can benefit the most from improved outcomes are those who are least able to pay the cost of hiring a doula. 

Doulas and birth workers are a compassionate bunch. No one in this profession is here to get rich, and we want to provide our services to people who can benefit from them the most. However, we also have ourselves and our families to care for, and doing this work well takes time. Far too many kind-hearted people who have trained long and hard and love this work leave after a few years, turning to less rewarding work that pays the bills. When this happens, the doula’s skills go to waste and their community loses out on the transformative care they could have received.

Advocates within the doula sphere are exploring options to improve community access to doula support while making a long-term career in this field more sustainable. At Doula Canada, we are doing our part by developing a briefing note that will elucidate opportunities and challenges in the current perinatal care landscape, the potential for doulas and childbirth educators to leverage these opportunities and solve these challenges, and models whereby doula care could be cost-effectively funded by a mix of social partners including different levels of government, insurance companies, and foundations. This initiative is directed by the Advocacy Working Group, comprised of Doula Canada members and staff. The Advocacy Working Group is part of our commitment to manifest a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) action within our school. Stay tuned for more on the Doula Access Initiative in the coming months.

To connect with the Advocacy Working Group at Doula Canada, email Keira Grant, EDI Co-Lead at keira@doulatraining.ca.

 

Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.

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Anti-Oppression community Equity

World Food Day

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1697463575735{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]World Food Day hits a little differently this year. The skyrocketing cost of food has driven the federal government to summon the CEOs of Canada’s largest food retailers to a meeting in Ottawa on Thanksgiving Monday.

Access to food is not just about the rising price of groceries in contrast to incomes that haven’t changed much. This year’s theme for World Food Day is Water is Life. Water is Food. Leave No One Behind. It calls us to reflect on access to food on a deeper level. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States notes that 71% of the planet is water, however only 2.5% of that water is fresh, drinkable water.

Canadians are blessed to live in a freshwater-rich country, however, 28 Indigenous Reservations across the country are still living with long-term boil water advisories. These communities have been systemically left behind, demonstrating that social policies and political will are central dimensions of ending hunger.

The statement “Water is Food” has an additional layer of meaning for birth workers. Water is the main ingredient in human milk, the ideal first food for all of us. When lactating parents don’t have access to clean drinking water babies are also left behind. When we view food and water as commodities we create a precarious circumstance for society’s most vulnerable members. 

As victims of the Nestle infant formula scandal learned in the most horrific way possible, diluting formula with contaminated water can mean death for babies. In addition to the health risks associated with formula feeding, the cost of infant formula has risen along with all other goods. This follows on the heels of a formula shortage that saw the price for one canister exceeding $70 in the Territories in 2022 according to one of our members. 

When we encourage and champion new parents to normalize, initiate, and sustain lactation and direct breast/chestfeeding we are engaging in a vital action to ensure food security in our communities. When we connect lactation support to action to achieve clean drinking water, and sustainable food networks for all, we are recognizing the intrinsic interconnectedness of social systems and family well-being.

You can learn more about the struggle to secure clean drinking water for all First Nations in Canada at First Nations Drinking Water Settlement. To learn more about how you can support Indigenous land and water defenders in Canada visit Indigenous Climate Action.

 

Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
community connection Equity LGBTQ2S+

Bisexual Visibility Day

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1695560834217{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]According to national data, bisexuals make up the lion’s share of the LGB population. Yet, we are also the most invisible. This is because sexual orientation is usually interpreted based on relationship status and household composition, rather than on how an individual experiences their sexuality.

My wife and I have been together for 16 years, and co-parenting together for 11 years. We are both bisexual. Rarely is our family interpreted accurately by the outside world. I am Black, she is white, our kid is mixed race and presents as Black. We are also both femmes. As a result of these factors, we have been in countless interactions where my wife has been interpreted, and treated as “my friend who helps me out with my kid”. She has actually been a part of every moment of his life since he was an ultrasound image.

If she takes him to medical appointments she is asked to substantiate who she is in relation to him, or now that he is older, he has been asked to confirm her identity. This doesn’t happen when I take him to medical appointments. It is a good practice to confirm the relationship between adults and children at medical appointments. However, this seems to be happening based on race, sexual orientation, and gender-based assumptions about families, rather than as a universal safety precaution.

We’ve come a long way in terms of normalizing same-sex households, but as recently as this past school year, our kid came home with a form that had spots for “mother” and “father”. It is so easy to create a form that has two spaces for “parent/guardian”. Outdated forms such as this one exclude a lot of families that aren’t “same-sex households”. 

In general, we’re not very surprised by these microaggressions as we navigate a heterosexist world. What often lands more painfully are the microaggressions from within the LGBTQ community in relation to our bisexuality.

Recently, we were at a comedy night that was heavily attended by queer and trans people. Despite the largely queer crowd, one of the comedians made a biphobic joke. We groaned and gave each other knowing eye-rolls. This reaction sparked a conversation with a lesbian couple that was seated at the same table. We got to chatting with them and when we revealed that we have been together for the better part of 2 decades and are raising a child together, they made a remark that we have heard in lesbian spaces before: “Oh, well it’s like you’re lesbians then”. 

Like many microaggressions, the intention was clearly complimentary, but that’s definitely not how it landed. We are proud bisexual women. Our relationship with each other doesn’t change that. In these conversations, we find ourselves resisting the temptation to disclose being polyamorous and our relationships with men as a counterargument. No one should have to justify being Bi. That is just what some people are. We all understand that a person who’s been celibate for an extended amount of time isn’t necessarily asexual. It’s the same thing really. My sexual orientation is the one I was born with. Relationships are choices I make over time.

Not all same-sex couples are gay and lesbian. Not all different-sex couples are straight. Many of us raise children using a variety of family and community structures. Being told we are not real or that our identity is a phase hurts. 

A great way to make the world less painful for bisexuals and their families is to normalize and represent different family structures. Right now, there is a culture war over when it’s okay to start talking to kids about LGBTQ+ people. 

Who among us can remember receiving an explanation about marriage and families? We take for granted that there is no need to explain these concepts. We learn about these and other institutions by observing the world around us. LGBTQ+ people are part of the world. Representing queer and trans folk in a child’s world from day one is how we present an accurate portrait of reality.

There is content that affirms family diversity for all ages. Independent children’s publisher Flamingo Rampant offers an excellent selection of children’s books that show race, sexual, bodily, ability, and gender diversity with people and families doing all sorts of fun and magical things. Super Power Baby Shower by Toby Hill-Meyer and Fay Onyx tells the story of a queer, polyamorous family of superheroes preparing to have a baby! 

 Keira Grant (she/her) brings a wealth of experience to her EDI Co-Lead role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community-building initiatives. As a mom and partner, she uses her lived experience to provide support and reflection for her clients and her work. Keira is the owner of Awakened Changes Perinatal Doula Services.

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community connection Trauma vulnerabiliity

World Suicide Prevention Day: Creating Hope Through Action

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1693608059856{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]This year’s theme for World Suicide Prevention Day is creating hope through action. 

There is a lot we can do intentionally to decrease suicidality and enhance hope among the perinatal population. 

According to this data analysis in Canadian Medical Association Journal, one in every 19 perinatal deaths is due to suicide, making suicide a leading cause of perinatal death. CMAJ notes that these findings speak to a need for stronger mental health support during and after pregnancy. Discussing perinatal health universally during prenatal support is a good starting point. Knowing what to watch out for, and raising awareness and discussion about is also essential. 

This 2022 article by Ann-Marie Bright and colleagues presents a scoping review of almost 20 years of literature on perinatal suicidality. Their central finding is that “The minimization of women’s experiences may lead to detrimental consequences and there is a need for increased knowledge of mental health problems by those working with women in the perinatal period to ensure safety planning conversations occur with every woman meeting ‘at risk’ criteria.”

Suicidal ideation is having thoughts of committing suicide. These thoughts occur on a spectrum ranging in frequency, intensity, and intentionality. While suicidal ideation does not always lead to a suicide attempt, suicide attempts and completed suicides are always preceded by suicidal ideation. Early identification and intervention regarding suicidal ideation as an important way of preventing suicide. 

Bright et. al divide the risk factors for suicidal ideation during the perinatal period into 3 categories:

  1. Biological, which includes:
    1. Nicotine and alcohol use
    2. Poor or low sleep
    3. Chronic illness
    4. Pregnancy conditions
    5. Complicated Birth
  2. Psychological, which includes 
    1. Trauma history
    2. Prior history of mental illness
    3. Pregnancy and infant loss
    4. Suicide attempt history
    5. Feeling unprepared to parent
  3. Social, which includes
    1. Unemployed/low income
    2. Inadequate support system
    3. Intimate partner violence
    4. Refugee Status
    5. Unhealthy relationships

 

There are two key takeaways for doulas in these findings. Firstly, this is a pretty lengthy list of risk factors and it’s not exhaustive. Suicidal ideation could affect anyone, from any walk of life. We need to talk to all clients about mental health and raise awareness regarding red flags for mental ill health, and share local treatment options.

Secondly, some people are more likely to be at risk than others. People who are marginalized and who have survived abuse and violence may need some extra helping hands. 

As birth workers, our role is in and of itself a powerful action against suicide. Support from a doula has been shown to significantly reduce postpartum depression and strengthen new parent relationships. Perhaps this is because having a doula can mitigate many of these risks identified by Bright et. al, such as complicated birth, feeling unprepared to parent, and an inadequate support system. We can’t underestimate the life-saving power and potential of this work. We need financial and infrastructural support to do this work and connect with the clients who need us the most. 

To learn more about how you can support suicide awareness and prevention in your birthwork practice, check out resources at Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. 

This short video also provides excellent information on warning signs for postpartum depression. https://youtu.be/6kaCdrvNGZw?si=nBqLwhMLnFd–XK3

 

Keira Grant (she/her) brings a wealth of experience to her EDI Co-Lead role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community-building initiatives. As a mom and partner, she uses her lived experience to provide support and reflection for her clients and her work. Keira is the owner of Awakened Changes Perinatal Doula Services.

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Categories
birth community Health Care pregnancy

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Day

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1693401592473{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are as prevalent as Autism Spectrum Disorders, but they are less talked about and wildly misunderstood. If you work with babies, you are likely to encounter one with FASD, but it often goes unrecognized and untreated. We’re going to do some myth-busting and share some facts that all birth workers should know and be prepared to share with clients.

  • Alcohol is a known teratogen (birth defect-causing agent). There is no known amount of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) or time during pregnancy when alcohol can be consumed without risk to the fetus.
  • 45% of pregnancies are accidental. Often, prenatal alcohol exposure occurs before pregnancy is detected. Early detection of pregnancy reduces the likelihood of PAE.
  • Not all PAE causes FASD to develop. The development of FASD is influenced by the amount of alcohol exposure and a mix of genetic and epigenetic factors. FASD affects people from all walks of life, races, and ethnicities
  • Social determinants of health influence the development of and treatment of FASD. For example, people who have had limited access to education, are less likely to be aware that consuming alcohol can harm their babies. People experiencing poverty and racism are less likely to disclose their alcohol consumption and seek timely treatment for themselves and their children due to fear of incarceration and having their children removed. 
  • While FASD is diagnosed based on the presence of specific facial characteristics, FASD can manifest in a variety of ways, with a range of symptom severity. Treatment needs to be tailored to the individual.
  • Newborns with FASD are often have heightened sensitivity to light and other environmental stimuli. They benefit from being cared for in a dark, quiet environment, and may need more soothing than other babies.
  • Many children with FASD struggle more with emotional regulation than other children. They can benefit from an established routine and early and active guidance on emotional regulation strategies such as breathing exercises. 
  • People with FASD often have specific strengths. For example, many people with FASD are highly self-aware, hopeful, collaborative, loving, and kind. Treatment that focuses on strengths rather than deficits is more effective.
  • Many people with FASD lead happy, fulfilling, and rewarding lives. This outcome is more likely with early, strengths-focused treatment. 

In recognition that we need to talk about FASD, the Canadian Government declared September FASD awareness month in 2020. The theme for 2023 is Uniting our Strengths: Finding Solutions Together.

As birthworkers, we can be part of the solution by informing ourselves of and celebrating the strengths of people with FASD. We can also hold non-judgmental, compassionate space for our clients to talk about drinking. Stigma is the leading reason why people don’t ask for help. 

You can also honour the achievements of people with FASD by wearing red shoes this month! “Red Shoes Rock” is a grassroots movement that started in 2013 with FASD educator and advocate RJ Formanek wore shoes on an international stage. 

In his own words: “Red shoes were critical to my narrative, they were the key to it all. They were all about being different… They spoke of speed, of freedom of thought and being different, and red running shoes with the power suit sent a message out there to the world.”

For more information on supporting families navigating FASD, check out our posts from 2021 and 2022.

 

Keira Grant (she/her) brings a wealth of experience to her EDI Co-Lead role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives. As a mom and partner she uses her lived expereince to provide support and reflection for her clients and her work. Keira is the owner of Awakened Changes Perinatal Doula Services.

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Categories
Anti-Oppression community connection Equity intersectionality LGBTQ2S+ Newsletters pride understanding bias vulnerabiliity

Unlearning the Nuclear Family

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1685714926487{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]When I was a kid in the 80s, the family sitcom dominated television. From the Huxtables to the Keatons, to the Seavers, it was always Mom, Dad, and 2.5 kids. By then, the nuclear family had become the norm, so usually, both Mom and Dad worked outside the home. 

I always knew I wanted to be a mom someday. Even though my family didn’t look like the ones I saw on TV (I was raised by an Aunt and a Grandma), somehow it never occurred to me that the family I made someday would look different from the ones I saw on TV. I always pictured Daddy, babies, and me.

As I got older and came out as bisexual, my visions of future family life expanded to include the possibility of parenting with a “Daddy” or another “Mommy”, but I was still locked into a really nuclear understanding of what “families” looked like. 

Now my life has taught me a lot better. I do parent my only child with my wife, but welcoming Baby into our family made so much more than three. Our chosen family comprised of friends and partners from our queer and polyamorous communities has always been a huge part of our parenting journey.

We know many beautiful families configured in ways that transcend a couple with kids. We know quartets of a lesbian couple and a gay couple who have chosen to co-parent. We know gay and lesbian besties who have chosen to co-parent with their respective biological and chosen families behind them. We know lesbian couples with a known sperm donor who is deeply involved in their child’s life. There are triads or “thrupples” (a partnership involving 3 adults) who choose to raise families. This could look like a mom having a baby with each of her two male partners, or two women each having a baby with their male partner or any other number of ways of creating a family.

The reality is that Queer and Trans Culture isn’t just about having a life partner who was assigned the same sex as you at birth. Our cultural norms are forged from a history where the most conventional, nuclear way that we could have a family was still socially unacceptable. Many of us and our queer elders were rejected by our biological families for being honest about who we are. As a result, our community has been resourceful and resilient in carving out new ways of defining “family” and building family units that allow us to be whole. We create our own villages that know who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going to support us while we child rear and do this thing called life.

5 was a vital turning point for queer and trans families. It made the relationship to the child the focus of parental rights, rather than biology. The law also makes it possible for more than two people to be the legal parents of a child. This legal change was extremely important, but it’s only a fraction of the needed social change.

We must unlearn the idea that “parent+parent+kid(s)=family”. There are infinite equations that can add up to a family. As professional support people, we can embrace the expectation that clients seeking our help could come in ones, twos, or more, reflecting any mix of gender identities. 

We can also expect that folks living outside the parental binary are seeking our support specifically because they can expect that other parts of the health and social service systems don’t expect them, and might be hostile toward anything or anyone that challenges their expectations. We can create an unconditional blanket of compassion and support around all the beautiful shapes and sizes that families come in. That blanket is also a shield against fear and hate that preserves the sacredness of the parenting journey for all people.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1686178152124{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

Keira Grant (she/her) Inclusion and Engagement Lead – Racialized Communities

Keira brings a wealth of experience to the Online Community Moderator role. She is a Queer, Black woman with a twenty-year track record in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) education, projects, and community building initiatives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]