Episode 9: Why I Stopped Attending Hospital Births as a Doula

In episode 9 of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast, Lindsay Askins - a seasoned doula, birth coach, and Mother of three - shares her transformative journey from supporting hospital births to exclusively attending home and birth center births. Lindsay covers the stark disconnect between obstetrics and the mammalian process of birth, highlighting the often traumatic consequences of unnecessary medical interventions that ignore mammalian requirements for birth. Through personal anecdotes and expert insights, Lindsay shares the key moments and experiences that ultimately led her to walk away from supporting clients birthing in hospitals. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Lindsay spent many years supporting doula clients in hospitals across the U.S.
2. Lindsay got to a point where she realized she could not change the system of obstetrics no matter which way she tried. 
3. Moving back to birthing at home and away from obstetrics illustrates a shift towards moving back into alignment with mammalian biology.
4. Lindsay came to a point in her doula career where she realized she could no longer show up for her clients the way they needed while working within a hospital environment. 
5. Lindsay's story is a powerful call to action for birth workers and parents to think individually when making choices surrounding their baby's birth. Just because something has been "normalized" within our culture doesn't mean it's the right choice for us. 

Quotes:

• "Doulas are not 'advocates' or bodyguards. That's not our role."
• "We can't change obstetrics because obstetrics is working exactly the way it was designed, and it was never designed for Mothers and babies.....but we can opt out."
• "It's like watching rape. Things are happening to women's bodies without their consent."
• "You can't walk into obstetrics and expect a mammalian birth."