S23 Ep6: Dignified Maternal Care with Doula Melissa Espey-Mueller

*Content warning: death, infant loss, pregnancy and birth trauma, medical trauma, medical neglect, racism *Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.com/resources    ABC’s new show, Familicide: https://www.familicide.net/ Melissa Espey-Mueller's North Dallas Doula Associates: Website: https://www.northdallasdoulas.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northdallasdoulas/  Moms Advocating For Moms S23 survivors Markeda, Kristen and Amanda have created a nonprofit, Moms Advocating for Moms, in hopes to create a future where maternal well-being is prioritized, disparities are addressed, and every mother has the resources and support she needs to thrive: https://www.momsadvocatingformoms.org/take-action https://linktr.ee/momsadvocatingformoms  Please sign the survivors petitions below to improve midwifery education and regulation in Texas: https://www.change.org/p/improve-midwifery-education-and-regulation-in-texas?recruiter=1336781649&recruited_by_id=74bf3b50-fd98-11ee-9e3f-a55a14340b5a&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink  Malik's Law  https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4553  M.A.M.A. has helped file a Texas bill called Malik's Law, which is intended to implement requirements for midwives in Texas to report birth outcomes in hopes of improving transparency and data collection in the midwifery field in partnership with Senator Claudia Ordaz.  *Sources: Best Doula https://bestdoulatraining.com/  CAPPA https://cappa.net/training-certification/  DONA International https://www.dona.org/  Madriella https://madriella.org/  ProDoula https://www.prodoula.com/  American College of Nurse Midwives https://midwife.org/  American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) https://www.acog.org/  A Brief History of Midwifery in America https://www.ohsu.edu/womens-health/brief-history-midwifery-america  CDC, Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2023 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2023/maternal-mortality-rates-2023.htm  CDC, Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality https://www.cdc.gov/womens-health/features/maternal-mortality.html  Geospatial distribution of relative cesarean section rates within the USA https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9284873/  In Mexico, Midwives Offer Care Rooted In Ancestral Tradition https://www.pih.org/article/mexico-midwives-offer-care-rooted-ancestral-tradition  Insights into the U.S. Maternal Mortality Crisis: An International Comparison https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/jun/insights-us-maternal-mortality-crisis-international-comparison?utm_source=chatgpt.com  March of Dimes https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/about-us  Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries  National Midwifery Institute https://www.nationalmidwiferyinstitute.com/midwifery  North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) https://narm.org/  Racism During Pregnancy and Birthing: Experiences from Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latina, and Middle Eastern Women https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9713108/  Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/  US Has Highest Infant, Maternal Mortality Rates Despite the Most Health Care Spending https://www.ajmc.com/view/us-has-highest-infant-maternal-mortality-rates-despite-the-most-health-care-spending  What is a freebirth? https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/what-is-freebirth  *SWW S23 Theme Song & Artwork:  Thank you so much to Emily Wolfe for covering Glad Rag’s original song, U Think U for us this season! Hear more from Emily Wolfe: On Spotify On Apple Music https://www.emilywolfemusic.com/ instagram.com/emilywolfemusic Glad Rags: https://www.gladragsmusic.com/  The S23 cover art is by the Amazing Sara Stewart