Birth Words: Language For a Better Birth
Birth worker Sara Pixton draws on her backgrounds in applied linguistics and social work to explore the power of words during the childbearing season and how we can all come together to better care for and honor those who give birth.
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Rebroadcast of Spring: Reconceptualizing Due Dates
02/29/2024
Rebroadcast of Spring: Reconceptualizing Due Dates
This episode is a rebroadcast of Season 1, Episode 71. In this episode, Sara talks about linguistic relativity, her favorite season shift (from winter to spring) and how the term "due date" can be all kinds of problematic!
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Advocacy: Reframing a Hot Button Birth Issue as Educating, Empowering, and Amplifying
01/31/2024
Advocacy: Reframing a Hot Button Birth Issue as Educating, Empowering, and Amplifying
Advocacy is one of those topics that can get birth workers taking sides and sharing strong opinions. In this episode, I argue that advocacy is the heart and soul of all client-centered birth work, and I frame it in a way that I think you'll agree with me! Get involved as an advocate at all levels of impact--with individuals, in your local environment, and at the state and federal levels. I close the episode with a call to action to support the Perinatal Workforce Act, complete with an easy step-by-step process to follow and a and share with your representative. Let's join together in support of better birth! Link to download file: https://www.birthwords.com/podcast
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Amazing: A Pandemic Birth Story with Ella Mink
11/30/2023
Amazing: A Pandemic Birth Story with Ella Mink
In this episode, Ella Mink shares her story of giving birth to her first daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ella was 17 years old at the time and had an amazing water birth at a birth center that ignited her passion for birth, setting her on a path of becoming a birth and postpartum doula and nurse midwife.
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Stories: Powerful Tools for Social Change
10/31/2023
Stories: Powerful Tools for Social Change
In this episode, Sara considers the power of telling your birth story--or your pregnancy or postpartum story. Stories remind us that we are each unique, whole individuals with immeasurable worth and dignity. They highlight the barriers that need to be removed on our path to a better birth experience, and they showcase what's possible if we work together for change. If you'd like to share your story on the podcast, email or reach out on Instagram or Facebook (@birthwords). REFERENCES American Psychological Association. (2021, Ju ne). Carl Rogers, PhD. Council on Social Work Education. (2023). What is Social Work? CSWE. Mcleod, S., PhD. (2023). Humanistic Approach in Psychology (humanism): Definition & Examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html Rogers, C. (1995). A Way of Being, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Sulé, V. T. (2020). Critical race theory. Encyclopedia of Social Work.
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Unethical: How Ethics Fade from View in the Birth Space
09/25/2023
Unethical: How Ethics Fade from View in the Birth Space
In this episode, Sara confronts the topic of ethics in the birth space. Unfortunately, ethically objectionable things happen frequently in the birth space. Even more unfortunately, they are often not recognized as such. Using the explanations of ethical fading, Sara explores many ethically questionable things that have been justified to be regularly done during birth. REFERENCES: Betrán, A. P., Torloni, Zhang, J., & Gülmezoglu, A. M. (2015). WHO Statement on Caesarean Section Rates. Bjog: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 123(5), 667–670. Betran, A. P., Ye, J., Moller, A., Souza, J. P., & Zhang, J. (2021). Trends and projections of caesarean section rates: global and regional estimates. BMJ Global Health, 6(6), e005671. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022a, February 25). Stats of the states - cesarean delivery rates. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March of Dimes. (n.d.). Total cesarean deliveries by maternal race: United States, 2019-2021 Average. March of Dimes | PeriStats. https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/data?lev=1&obj=1®=99&slev=1&stop=355&top=8 Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1992). The Tree of Knowledge: the biological roots of human understanding (p. 247). Tenbrunsel, A. E., & Messick, D. M. (2004). (Links to an external site.) . Social Justice Research, 17(2), 223-236. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:sore.0000027411.35832.53
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Rebirth: Birth Words is Back for Season 2... With a Twist!
08/15/2023
Rebirth: Birth Words is Back for Season 2... With a Twist!
After a two-year hibernation, Birth Words is being reborn! Season 2 of Birth Words will offer monthly episodes, plus a new twist... listen to this episode to find out more! TRANSCRIPT: Intro: Welcome to birth words. Words are powerful. What are you doing with yours? In this podcast, birth doula and Applied Linguistics scholar Sara Pixton invites you to be intentional, reflective, and empowering with your language as we come together to honor those who give birth. Hello, this is Sara with Birth Words, and I am thrilled to be back in this podcast space with you. The last episode that I published of Birth Words was episode number 78 in June of 2021, so over two years ago. And since then, Birth Words has been in hibernation. I've still worked on a few things here and there, but for the most part, I've shifted over the last couple of years, my attention to other places. I did a lot of work as a birth doula, spent a lot of time on call, attending a lot of births, and just needed one less thing on my plate as I did that. Now I'm kind of shifting my rhythm again, and I am ready to come back with Episode One of Season Two of Birth Words. I am going to be working on Season Two at a little different rate than I did with Season One. Rather than weekly or bi-weekly episodes, I'm planning to release monthly episodes. So this is the August 2023 episode of Birth Words, Season Two. Coming into Season Two, I will be adding a new angle into the work of Birth Words here in the podcast and in other work on social media and elsewhere. I am starting another master's degree. And when I get a new master's degree, I just have to add it into my podcast work. Many of you who are with me from Season One may know that I, during Season One, was pursuing and then graduated from a master's program in applied linguistics. And that was a lot of where much of the content came from for Birth Words Season One. As I would learn about different topics in my applied linguistics classes, I would reflect on their application in the birth space, and then come up with episodes to discuss and think about the impact of language on the way that we give birth and the way that we experience pregnancy and postpartum. With my new master's degree, I will be building off of that work, always incorporating that background of linguistics. But now, I'm also going to bring to the podcast, the new perspective and understanding and knowledge that I gain during my work in my Masters of Social Work program. And we will incorporate the perspective of social work and healing talk throughout the coming podcast episodes. So briefly, I just want to share a bit about my journey and why I decided to get another master's degree. I likely mentioned at some point during the 78 episodes of Season One of Birth Words that my long-term plan was to work as a doula for a while and then go back to school, first for a bachelor's in nursing and then for a master's degree in nurse midwifery, so that I could be a Certified Nurse Midwife and be the care provider in that space, and catch new babies and watch and empower and support and love my clients as they brought new life into the world. And that is a beautiful dream. And I have watched many of my doula colleagues go on to choose a path in midwifery. And it is beautiful, and I am so thrilled that they act as care providers in that space. And the longer I worked towards it, and the more I was on call, and the more I attended births at all hours of the night, I realized that it was taking a big toll on my mental health and my family life to be on call, always needing to have my phone with me and ready to go to a birth at any time, and that the irregular sleep schedule is really not something that was going to work long-term for me to be in a mentally healthy place. And so, I decided instead to focus on mental health—my own by making a choice that will work much more naturally with my strengths and my own needs and family life—and one that will focus on the mental health of my clients in the future. So I'm pursuing a master's degree in social work to become a licensed clinical social worker. And for those who don't know, a licensed clinical social worker is one of the many different qualifications you can have to be a therapist or a counselor, meeting with clients. So I'm thrilled and look forward to that work, to be able to sit with my clients, especially those going through this childbearing journey, whether they're trying to conceive, and having difficulty with that, or whether they're facing challenges during their pregnancies, or in the postpartum time, especially as mental health becomes a concern for many people during that time. I am going to sit with my clients and listen compassionately to them and offer them the care that a therapist can offer. So like I said, Birth Words is going to evolve a little bit to incorporate some of that perspective that social work brings to the table and the work of healing talk. So stay tuned for that. I'll come back at the end of this episode and talk a little more about what that might look like. But my invitation for you now is to go back and listen to past episodes of Birth Words, Season One. I highly recommend starting with the first five episodes; they lay a pretty good groundwork for the work that we do throughout the rest of Season One of the podcast. They kind of help you to get an idea of what we're doing in this Birth Words space. And they're each only about 15 minutes long. So it's not going to take five hours of your time just a little more than an hour. And then, after you've listened to those groundwork episodes, it's makes a lot of sense to just skip around and find topics that are interesting to you whether that's infertility; or the word “deliver;” or what to do when somebody starts telling a birth horror story, and you're pregnant or giving birth, or supporting somebody who is; and many, many other topics. It makes a lot of sense to just jump around and find the ones that stick out to you after that. Here's a brief summary of Season One of Birth Words: Our words matter. Language is a meaning-making system. We make meaning out of these words, through our lived experience and the associations that come with the language that we've had during those experiences. Because birth, the act of giving life has historically been co-opted by the field of medicine, which is for treating the sick or the injured, the language surrounding birth has been affected. There's a lot of medical, paternalistic, and disease-related language that comes into this life-giving space. The power has been taken out of the hands of the birth giver too often and into the hands of the care provider. Too often, birthing women are treated like machines or broken in the way that we talk about them. There's a lot of industrial or machine metaphors or language that are used to refer to the process of labor and birth. This affects our experiences as birthgivers. And it affects our experiences throughout pregnancy and postpartum. The way that we hear and the way that we talk influences our beliefs and our feelings, and those impact the experiences that we have. So, Birth Words is, as the tagline says, “language for a better birth.” And I definitely want to include in there, pregnancy and postpartum as well. Birth Words is an invitation for those who are giving birth and for birthworkers to be reflective, intentional and empowering with their words. The invitation is to be reflective. To consider which words are ways of talking that I hear or use, don't center the birthgiver. Which words or phrases pathologize birth and treat it more like a disease than a life-giving act. The invitation is to be intentional. To choose words that center the birthgiver, and acknowledge that birth is a natural, physiological process; that pregnancy is awe-inspiring; and that postpartum is identity-shifting, and it's a magical time where support is needed and recovery should be the first priority. The invitation is to be empowering. Stop and think just a minute about how incredible pregnancy and birth and postpartum are. Growing a human. Bringing that human into the world through an orifice that stretches to accommodate life. Hours of the largest, most powerful muscle in the body contracting and releasing and changing its anatomy to have a large opening in the bottom of it for a baby to pass through. Growing and disposing of a whole organ as part of this process. Holy freaking cow. That. Is. Power. Let's make sure that the way that we talk acknowledges that power. As I mentioned, we're moving into a new space with Season Two, and there will be a new twist as I pursue my Masters of Social Work. I want to share with you here a definition of Social Work from socialworklicensemap.com, and the reference is in the show notes. The definition says, “social work is a practice-based profession that promotes social change, development, cohesion, and the empowerment of people and communities. Social work practice involves the understanding of human development, behavior, and the social, economic and cultural institutions and interactions.” That is just rife with opportunities to explore in Season Two: the social change that we're working towards in the space of pregnancy, birth and postpartum; the development that occurs among people and communities in that space; the cohesion—the coming together—of different professionals, different perspectives to support birthgivers; and the empowerment of individual people and communities. Birth is an opportunity for that, if we will work to make it so. This definition says, “social work practice involves the understanding of human development.” That is not just physical, but also emotional, mental health focus, and how our developing as people happens and affects our experiences during childbearing. Also, “behavior and the social, economic and cultural institutions and interactions.” There are so many social institutions, economic institutions and cultural institutions at play in the birth space. And we're going to be diving in and looking at all of those different topics in the coming season. But if you are a word nerd, and you're here for the language stuff, don't worry. We will still make sure there is a healthy dose of that. We're just adding in this social work perspective to expand and consider the perspective that social work and mental health focus offer to the work we're doing here at Birth Words. I'm really looking forward to this season. I hope that you are too, and I hope that you will join me again next month for the September 2023 episode of Birth Words. Outro: Did words play an important role in your birth experience? If you're interested in sharing your story on the podcast, go to www.birth words.com. If you're liking what you hear on the podcast, please leave a review on your podcast app. For more resources about harnessing the power of words to benefit the birth experience, visit birthwords.com REFERENCE:
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Narratives: What to Do When Someone Starts Telling a Birth "Horror Story"
06/21/2021
Narratives: What to Do When Someone Starts Telling a Birth "Horror Story"
In this episode, Sara discusses what to do when family, friends, or others start telling birth "horror stories" at baby showers or in birthing spaces. She uses the framework of narrative analysis to offer ideas about constructive ways to respond in these situations.
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Necessary: Talking About Pelvic Floor Health with Dr. Betty DeLass, DPT
06/07/2021
Necessary: Talking About Pelvic Floor Health with Dr. Betty DeLass, DPT
In this episode, Sara interviews pelvic floor PT Betty DeLass. Betty discusses the importance of normalizing pelvic health through talking about it! She also makes an exciting announcement about how she's working to improve the perinatal experience for *everyone*!
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Bonding: The Benefits of Talking to Your Baby in Utero!
05/17/2021
Bonding: The Benefits of Talking to Your Baby in Utero!
Sara summarizes fetal hearing development, then describes the benefits of talking to your baby during pregnancy--for both you and baby!
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Magical: A Conversation with Women's Health Coach Meredith Ashton Cohen About the Menstrual Cycle
05/03/2021
Magical: A Conversation with Women's Health Coach Meredith Ashton Cohen About the Menstrual Cycle
In this episode, guest Meredith Ashton Cohen uses the metaphor of the changing seasons to describe the menstrual cycle and how to live your best life by better understanding each season of the menstrual cycle.
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Roots: Rebroadcast of Birth Words, Episode 1
04/19/2021
Roots: Rebroadcast of Birth Words, Episode 1
This week on the podcast, I'm bringing Birth Words back to its roots. I aired the first episode of Birth Words on June 29, 2019. Since then, I've produced over 70 unique episodes, and gained lots of listeners. And this week, I'm rebroadcasting that very first episode. So, if you haven't yet listened to the story of the birth of Birth Words (or even if you have), give this episode a listen!
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Communication: Changing the Way You Speak to Fit Your Circumstances
04/05/2021
Communication: Changing the Way You Speak to Fit Your Circumstances
In this episode, Sara discusses the concept of communicative repertoires: the idea that we modify the way we speak to fit the circumstances we're in and our relationships (real or intended) with the person we're talking to. Sara poses questions for birthgivers and birthworkers to consider as they communicate with others during pregnancy and birth.
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Teacher: Learning Life's Lessons During an 80-Hour Labor, with Michelle Knight
03/22/2021
Teacher: Learning Life's Lessons During an 80-Hour Labor, with Michelle Knight
In this week's episode, I talk with Michelle Knight about how the process of giving birth was a great teacher that shaped Michelle's approach to life afterward. We also discuss the power of sharing stories about the challenges of our birth and postpartum experiences. Our words can validate these experiences and invite others to find the support they need as we shift identities while moving into parenthood.
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Spring: Reconceptualizing Due Dates
03/08/2021
Spring: Reconceptualizing Due Dates
In this episode, Sara talks about linguistic relativity, her favorite season shift (from winter to spring) and how the term "due date" can be all kinds of problematic!
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Workshop: A Sneak Peek into the Birth Words In-Depth Workshop for Birthworkers
03/01/2021
Workshop: A Sneak Peek into the Birth Words In-Depth Workshop for Birthworkers
Birthworkers, this one's for you! In this week's special episode, listen to four birthworkers discuss what they learned from and loved about the Birth Words In-Depth Workshop for Birthworkers. When you're ready to enroll in the workshop, head over to www.birthwords.com/classes and choose the option that works best for you: ONLINE or LIVE (03.27.21 in Lehi, UT).
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Unknown: An Interview with Birthing from Within Trainer Nikki Shaheed
02/22/2021
Unknown: An Interview with Birthing from Within Trainer Nikki Shaheed
In this week's episode, Nikki Shaheed talks about how to discover your heart's question to guide your birth, the various archetypes for approaching the birth experience, and the etiquette for Laborland. Nikki's powerful interview highlights the power of leading with questions, respecting the individuality of each birther and birth experience, and being okay with the unknown.
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Respect: Honorifics and the Circle of Support
02/08/2021
Respect: Honorifics and the Circle of Support
In this episode, we consider how and to whom we show respect through language. Specifically, we consider the use and impact of titles (or lack thereof) by birth care providers. Sara invites you to be reflective about the care providers you choose, the titles they use or don't use, and the relationships these honorifics support.
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Intricate: Kayte Gardner Tells Her Birth Stories
01/25/2021
Intricate: Kayte Gardner Tells Her Birth Stories
In this week's episode Kayte Gardner talks about the stories we tell ourselves about birth, birth trauma, and "high-risk" pregnancy and birth. Tune in to hear her tell her stories of loss and feelings of brokenness and of surprising herself and finding a passion in birth work.
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Conduit: Communication Isn't a Matter of Boxing Up Meaning
01/11/2021
Conduit: Communication Isn't a Matter of Boxing Up Meaning
In this episode, Sara discusses the conduit metaphor identified by linguist Michael Reddy. The conduit metaphor is an oversimplification of communication and language. This metaphor assumes that communicating is a simple act of packaging up your meaning in words and sending it to another person, who unproblematically opens it and understands precisely your meaning and intention. But it's not that simple!
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Exalted: A Conversation with Alisa Crawshaw about the Noble Work of Parenthood
12/28/2020
Exalted: A Conversation with Alisa Crawshaw about the Noble Work of Parenthood
In this conversation, Alisa, doula and mother to two (soon to be three) talks about her birth stories. She discusses the people who guided her on her path to her beautiful births, and her orgasmic first birth. She also tells about the work she does with her clients to guide them as they discover and claim their power in parenthood.
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Assumptions IIII: Figured Worlds and Birth IIII
12/14/2020
Assumptions IIII: Figured Worlds and Birth IIII
This episode is the last in the series on figured worlds. (Other episodes in this series include episodes 59, 61, and 63.) In this episode, Sara discusses her narrow lens and assumptions with regard to figured worlds and birth. Then, we conclude the series on figured worlds by discussing prominent environments, institutions, and values in the birth experience.
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Cool: My Husband's Perspective on Birth
11/30/2020
Cool: My Husband's Perspective on Birth
This week, meet my husband, Clark, as he tells the stories of the births of our three children and reflects on the roles of preparation and language.
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Assumptions III: Figured Worlds and Birth III
11/20/2020
Assumptions III: Figured Worlds and Birth III
In this episode, Sara talks more about figured worlds and birth, diving into the importance of language, people, and objects. The typical, simplified picture that comes to mind is called a figured world, and it is influenced by the language that we hear and the experiences we've had. Let's be mindful about our language so that we positively influence others' figured worlds about birth!
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History: A Discussion with Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich About Her Book, A Midwife's Tale
11/02/2020
History: A Discussion with Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich About Her Book, A Midwife's Tale
In this episode, I interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich about her book, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812. We discuss the unique writing style of Martha as an 18th century woman, the changing roles of midwives and doctors at the turn of the 19th century, and the many factors that influence the ways in which women have experienced childbirth over the centuries.
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Assumptions II: Figured Worlds and Birth II
10/19/2020
Assumptions II: Figured Worlds and Birth II
In this episode, we're digging more into figured worlds: the typical story of giving birth. What do people typically assume about the participants, activities, and ways of interacting during pregnancy and birth?
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Choice II: A Conversation with My Mom, Vicki Collet, About Thoughtful Language Choices
10/05/2020
Choice II: A Conversation with My Mom, Vicki Collet, About Thoughtful Language Choices
I'm thrilled to introduce you this week to the most special of all special guests: my mom, Vicki Collet!
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Assumptions: Figured Worlds and Birth
09/21/2020
Assumptions: Figured Worlds and Birth
In this episode, Sara introduces the concept of figured worlds. Figured worlds are the simplified mental perceptions we have of the way things typically work. In birth, common figured worlds hold many families back from having empowered, active birth experiences.
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Partnership: Talking About Partners and Communication with Childbirth Educator, Yogini, and Doula Alleah Erica Clarke
09/07/2020
Partnership: Talking About Partners and Communication with Childbirth Educator, Yogini, and Doula Alleah Erica Clarke
In this week's episode of Birth Words, I get to introduce you to the lovely Alleah Erica Clarke. Alleah Erica is a yoga teacher, childbirth educator, and gestational coach. She hosts The Partners Workshop, where she helps couples engage as a partnership during pregnancy and birth. In this episode, she discusses how communication between partners--both verbal and nonverbal--can be a powerful force for good during pregnancy and birth.
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Honor: A Critical Look at Caregiver-Client Conversation
08/24/2020
Honor: A Critical Look at Caregiver-Client Conversation
In this episode, Sara looks at caregiver-client conversations and how they can reinforce asymmetrical power relationships. She invites birthgivers to mindfully choose a midwife or obstetrician who honors your autonomy and power as the one growing and giving life.
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Miscarriage II: Lara Freidenfelds and 'The Myth of the Perfect Pregnancy'
08/10/2020
Miscarriage II: Lara Freidenfelds and 'The Myth of the Perfect Pregnancy'
In this episode, Sara interviews author and historian Lara Freidenfelds about her book The Myth of the Perfect Pregnancy. Lara discusses the knowledge we've gained about early pregnancy and miscarriage, as well as wisdom we've lost from earlier times.
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