EBB 276: Challenging the Myths of the "Perfect Mother" and "Perfect Birth" with Avital Norman Nathman, Author, Editor, and Activist

Evidence Based Birth®

Rebecca Dekker

Pregnancy, Health & Fitness, Childbirth, Parenting, Birth, Medicine, Kids & Family, Doula, Obstetrician, Midwife

4.6 • 978 Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of the EBB podcast, we are talking with Avital Norman Nathman, author and freelance writer about trends in birth and parenthood in the US.

Avital is a freelance writer and editor who focuses her work on motherhood, maternal health, gender and reproductive rights and justice. Her writing, which places a feminist lens on a variety of topics, including motherhood, maternal health, gender, reproductive rights, and cannabis, can be found in a variety of print and online articles for outlets like The New York Times, Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, VICE, and more.

Her first book, The Good Mother Myth: Redefining Motherhood to Fit Reality, provides a platform for diverse voices that often get left out of the conversations surrounding parenting. Avital is currently working on two new books. She is a co-editor for an anthology on abortion, and her upcoming book, The Perfect Birth Myth, combines research, expert analysis, and narrative experiences to look at the intersection of the birth industry and the health care system to understand how this ideal of the perfect birth came about, why it’s a red herring, and how we can do better to ensure that all folks who are pregnant can have access to quality care and the chance at a birth that is safe and that they are comfortable with.

Avital discusses the evolution of “motherhood” from the early aughts and “Mommy blogging” to internet activism, connection, and the ongoing “mommy wars” of the internet. Additionally, Avital discusses her upcoming and ongoing projects related to writing about the current state of having a baby in the US healthcare system and political climate, while calling out the experiences of marginalized populations and bringing forth the less obvious but very important consequences of the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Trigger Warning: abortion, miscarriage, hemorrhage, Dobbs decision, Roe v. Wade, maternal healthcare deserts, birth trauma

Resources:

Listen to the following podcast:

Find EBB's Abortion Research Guide here: Ebbirth.com/birthjustice

Follow Avital's work:

https://www.themamafesto.com

Twitter: @themamafesto

IG: @themamafesto

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone on today's podcast we're going to talk with Avital Norman
0:04.4	Nathman freelance writer and author of the Good Mother myth and an upcoming book on
0:09.8	the perfect birth myth looking at the intersection of the birth industry and the US
0:14.7	health care system.
0:17.8	Welcome to the Evidence-Based Birth Podcast. My name is Rebecca Decker and I'm a nurse with
0:24.3	my PhD and the founder of Evidence-based birth. Join me each week as we work
0:29.5	together to get evidence-based information into the hands of families and professionals around the world.
0:36.0	As a reminder, this information is not medical advice.
0:39.0	See EBBirth.com slash disclaimer for more details.
0:45.0	Hi everyone we are so excited to speak with our guests today
0:50.0	Avital all about the perfect birth myth which is a project she's working on.
0:54.6	I wanted to let you know that if there are any detailed content or trigger
0:58.0	warnings we'll post them in the description or show notes that go along with
1:01.2	this episode.
1:02.6	And now I'd like to introduce our honored guest.
1:06.1	Today I'm so excited to welcome Avital Norman Nathman
1:09.4	to talk about her work as a freelance writer and editor who focuses her work on
1:15.0	on motherhood, maternal health, gender and reproductive rights
1:17.7	and justice.
1:19.1	Avital, pronouns she-her, has spent over 15 years
1:22.3	spinning and weaving words into everything
1:24.8	from website copy to public health documents, a weekly column for Snoop Dogg, press
	...

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