Synopsis:Diasporic nurse scholar Dr. Favorite Iradukunda studied in Rwanda, South Africa and the United States. She is a global nurse leader and commited to decolonising nursing through an African lens. She combines her research on advancing the holistic well-being of African-diasporic women, with activism in black birth equity and justice.Notes:Google ScholarDr. Favorite's personal websiteDr. Favorite Iradukunda on Twitter Music:Music in this episode includes ‘Native American Dream’ by AudioLion used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Experiencing a “high risk” pregnancy and birth while growing a new life during the pandemic was transformative for Wiradjuri writer and producer Hannah Donnelly, and Arab-Turkish partner, writer Omar Sakr. We talk about queering birth, the administrative load of pregnancy, and the need for collective infrastructure to improve birthing experiences and outcomes for families and communities.Notes:HannahBlacklight: Ten Years of First Nations Storytelling edited by Hannah DonnellyArts and Cultural Exchange (ACE)Westmead Dragonfly MidwiferyOmarNon-Essential Work by Omar SakrShelf Reflection: Omar SakrThree poems by Omar SakrMusic:Music in this episode includes ‘Dream Drone’ by Yigit Atilla, and ‘ZEN’ by All Bets Off used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Dr. Sapna Samant, is a GP, radio producer, film maker, activist, and single adoptive parent and is passionately committed to social justice. Both her creative work and medical practice strive for  equity and work to rectify injustice wherever it occurs.Notes:Twitter Mastodon Sapna's blog What Bridgerton gets right and wrong about being IndianMusic:Music in this episode includes ‘Exclusiva One’ by Vzen Instrumental Beat used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Melbourne-based artist and cultural leader Aseel Tayah was born and raised in Jerusalem and is passionate about the role of the arts in connecting diverse communities across generations. Aseel uses art and storytelling to foreground the experiences of displaced people and advocate for artists of color, mothers, children and young people — changing the world, one project at a time.Notes:Aseel's websiteAseel Tayah: The home that lives within (YouTube)Music:Music in this episode includes ‘AERATE’ by Higher Power, and ‘Native American Dream’ by AudioLion used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:How do Indigenous communities weave together ancestral feminine lineages? This question is at the heart of Associate Professor Sara Motta’s praxis of transformation and collective liberation. Through a lens of feminised resistance, Sara, a proud mestiza salvaje, shares her healing journey from the wounds of patriarchal capitalist-coloniality, exploring restorative and reparative pathways of well-being and justice.Notes:Sara's personal websiteGeneologies (M)otherwiseWeaving Enfleshed Citizenship (M)otherwiseVoices of el pueblo: the road to the Colombian electionsDecolonising critique in, against and beyond the business schoolDecolonising (critical) social theory: Enfleshing post-Covid futuritiesMusic in this episode includes ‘ZEN’ by All Bets Off, and ‘AERATE’ by Higher Power used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Birthing holds a different significance for Indigenous communities that have experienced colonial attempts at elimination. For scholar, poet and irredentist Professor Alice Te Punga Somerville, (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki), birth is an act of resistance. She joins us to talk about her journey to parenthood and her experiences as a scholar who traverses between Indigeneity and migrancy. Notes:UBC academic pagePersonal websiteAlice Te Punga Somerville: My story as told to Elisabeth EastherAlice Te Punga Somerville and the politics of italicsImportant reading and writing questions for Alice Te Punga SomervilleWriting while colonisedBuy her first book of poetryMusic:Music in this episode includes ‘SMOOTH LIFE’ by Killer Chops used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:For Professor Cath Chamberlain, babies are a gift from the ancestors and birth is a critical life event. But what if this time is coupled with intergenerational and complex trauma? Cath is a  Palawa Trawlwoolway woman, registered midwife, and public health researcher who works to support the emotional and spiritual well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents experiencing trauma. In this critical conversation, Cath talks about her passion for healing the past by nurturing the future, improving health equity, and building perinatal awareness through storytelling and deep listening.Notes:Making a decision to do the hard research, that’s what discovery is aboutLeadership award for health researcherMRFF Success - Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous Mothers and BabiesSupporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families to Stay Together from the Start (SAFeST Start): Urgent call to action to address crisis in infant removalsMusic:Music in this episode includes ‘Developing Peace Health Wellness’ by Luca Tomassini, and ‘Unbend’ by Solix Music used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:What does it mean to be part of a community without access to your birthing stories? Dr Jacynta Krakouer, a Mineng Noongar social worker and Dr Indigo Willing, a sociologist and adoptee from Vietnam contribute a powerful discussion about the history and politics of out-of-home care and inter-country adoption addressing justice, kinship, and belonging. Jacynta and Indigo bring their lived experience and their community advocacy into dialogue with a critical analysis of the institutions and mindsets that underpin how children are born in the lands now known as Australia. Notes:Links to Jacynta's workResearchGate Google Scholar Separated at birth: Racism and unconscious bias in perinatal health servicesThe Family Matters report 2022First Nations families need support to stay together, before we create another Stolen GenerationFirst Nations children are still being removed at disproportionate rates. Cultural assumptions about parenting need to changeLinks to Indi's workResearch GateGoogle ScholarSiren Spotlight: Hybrid academic careers in sport—bridging scholarship, community, and consultancy workPodcast interview on The Vietnamese with Kenneth NguyenErika Hayasaki presents "Somewhere Sisters" with Indigo Willing We Skate QueenslandMusicMusic in this episode includes ‘Developing Peace Health Wellness’ by Luca Tomassini, and ‘Native American Dream’ by AudioLion used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Historian Carla Pascoe Leahy was surprised at how her own experiences of new motherhood were affected by the relationships and stories she was told by her own mother and grandmothers. In this episode, she talks about how learning about her past led to researching the experience of birth in Australia over the last 75 years. Carla discusses the importance of her local community, what she’s learned about being vulnerable as a researcher and how climate change is influencing mothering.Notes:Carla's website has extensive links to her work, but here are a few highlights below.BooksCarla Pascoe Leahy and Petra Bueskens (eds), Australian Mothering: Historical and Sociological Perspectives (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030202668Kristine Moruzi, Nell Musgrove and Carla Pascoe Leahy (eds), Children’s Voices from the Past: New Historical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives (London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/978303011895ArticlesC. Pascoe Leahy, ‘The afterlife of interviews: explicit ethics and subtle ethics in sensitive or distressing qualitative research’, Qualitative Research (2021), https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941211012924C. Pascoe Leahy, ‘Maternal heritage: remembering mothering and motherhood through material culture’, International Journal of Heritage Studies (2021), https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2021.1893792C. Pascoe Leahy, ‘The mother within: Intergenerational influences upon Australian matrescence since 1945’, Past & Present Supplement 15 (2020) 263-294, https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtaa041Carla Pascoe Leahy, ‘Maternal metamorphosis: how mothering has changed in Australia since the second world war’, The Conversation, 17 January 2022Carla Pascoe Leahy, ‘Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Why not smash the patriarchy’, The Conversation, 7 May 2021Carla Pascoe Leahy, ‘Childhood masked’, Arena Online, 8 October 2020Carla Pascoe Leahy, ‘Eudaimonia: meditations on pandemic life’, Arena Online, 3 September 2020Carla Pascoe Leahy, ‘‘Helicopter parenting’ and ‘tiger mothers’? Relax, Australian kids are alright’, The Conversation, 31 December 2019 Video: https://carlapascoeleahy.com/link-in-bio/Music in this episode includes ‘Tympanum’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis: In countries where development has been tied to nation building, birthing more than one child has been viewed as antithetical to ‘progress’. In this episode, I talk with Ritodhi Chakraborty and Aline Carrara about living in Aotearoa and creating multifunctional equitable landscapes that might help address the challenges of climate change. Together, we talk about foregrounding Indigenous people and people in post-colonial local societies rather than centring future thinking, Eurocentric environmental thought. We also discuss inter-generational parenting while living precariously in Aotearoa, and how caring for children and animals can prepare you for parenting, and the place of men in child-rearing spaces.NotesWatch a Vimeo talk Ritodhi did with Prof Hirini Matunga on Indigenous Cartography and Land management in Aotearoa. Read a recent publication by Ritodhi on climate justice Listen to a radio interview Aline and Ritodhi did about their lives in New Zealand. Music in this episode includes ‘A Box of Delights’ by Ketsa and ‘Something in the Air’ by HoliznaCC0, used under a Creative Commons license from Free Music Archive.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Decentring whiteness and decolonising birthwork are central to Janelle Da Silva’s life and work. By challenging spiritual bypassing and cultural appropriation using critical race theory and anti-racism praxis, Janelle is committed to having inclusive and robust conversations about social location, and power and privilege in white spaces. In this interview, Janelle talks about allyship, healing their own intergenerational trauma and becoming more aware of their intergenerational strength and wisdom.NotesListen to  Janelle Da Silva. on The RMA Podcast,  Episode 43 where she/they talk about  Running To Pay The Rent. Listen to Janelle's Pay the rent TED talk.Music in this episode includes ‘Tymphanum’ and ‘Webbed’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:What if you thought pregnancy was going to be easy, a breeze? You had even planned an overseas holiday – but then suddenly, pregnancy became frightening and stressful, needing admission to a mental health unit?Natalie Kon-yu – a Naarm-based writer descended from Italian and Mauritian migrants – talks about the experiences of medical sexism, birth trauma and medical mismanagement detailed in her book The Cost of Labour. She also talks about the ways in which motherhood is simultaneously exalted and undervalued In contemporary colonial Australia – and how she’s looking to challenge those norms.  [Content warning: This episode addresses mental health, suicidal ideation, medical trauma and negligence.]Notes:Read Natalie's powerful essay in Overland: The most natural thinghttps://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-235/feature-the-most-natural-thing/Shelf Reflection: Natalie Kon-yuhttps://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/shelf-reflection-natalie-kon-yu/5 Questions with Dr Natalie Kon-yuhttps://www.liminalmag.com/5-questions/natalie-kon-yuThe #PublishingPaidMe hashtag reveals how Writers of Colour are undervaluedhttps://www.sbs.com.au/topics/voices/culture/article/2020/06/15/publishingpaidme-hashtag-reveals-how-writers-colour-are-undervaluedNatalie Kon-yu is a feminist firsthttps://www.dumbofeather.com/conversations/natalie-kon-yu-is-a-feminist-first/The cost of labour https://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/the-cost-of-labour/Music in this episode includes ‘Salientia’ and ‘Tympanum’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis: It’s tough negotiating the highly technocratic spaces of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a hospital – let alone as the queer, autonomous-single parent of a micro-preemie. Aruna Boodram is part of the Caribbean diaspora living in so-called Canada. In this week’s conversation, we discuss the stress and uncertainty of caring for one’s baby in NICU, how the concept of abolition applies to parenting and how community organising can benefit from being family friendly and inter-generational.Content warning: This episode contains conversations about medical trauma.Notes:Medium blog “There’s no way to prepare for this.”https://medium.com/@aruna.boodram/theres-no-way-to-prepare-for-this-44059552485Shameless Magazinehttps://shamelessmag.com/Children’s Peace Theatre in Toronto http://www.childrenspeacetheatre.org/Canadian Premature Babies Foundation.https://www.cpbf-fbpc.org/Music in this episode includes ‘Prevailing Truths’ by Ketsa, ‘Dark Water’ by Nul Tiel Records, ‘Nowhere to Be, Nothing to Do’ by HoliznaCC0 and ‘Webbed’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:As a US-based Black nurse-midwife, Lucinda Canty knows that nurses and midwives do not leave their prejudices at home. Implicit assumptions and biases follow them to work and wield a profound influence on perinatal care and patient outcomes. In this episode, we talk about the challenges of addressing racial disparities in reproductive health – and the power of bringing people into conversation about their shared experiences. [Content warning: This episode contains conversations about medical trauma and negligence]Notes:Follow Lucinda on Twitter: @LucindaCantyPhDOverdue reckoninghttps://nursemanifest.com/ongoing-overdue-reckoning-on-racism-in-nursing/organizing-team-for-orrn/Lucinda’s house https://lucindashouse.org/Lucinda’s poetry and visual art https://nursology.net/aesthetic-knowing/lucinda-canty-poetry-and-visual-art/Music in this episode includes ‘Algorithms’ by Chad Crouch, ‘Dark Water’ by Nul Tiel Records and ‘Webbed’ and ‘Salientia’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis:Mparntwe (Alice Springs) midwife Cherisse Buzzacott has achieved a number of firsts. She was first in her family to graduate from university, and the first ever graduate of the Australian Catholic University’s Bachelor of Midwifery Indigenous course. To Cherisse, though, firsts are about opening the door for others. She’s passionate about supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander midwives and health workers, and advocating for birthing on Country and culturally safe care for women in her community and from Central Australia. [Content warning: This episode contains conversations about miscarriage and stillbirth.]Notes:Rhodanthe Lipsett Indigenous Midwifery Charitable Trusthttps://indigenousmidwives.org.au/about-us/our-board/cherisse-buzzacott/I said ‘I’m in labour’ but no one listened https://indigenousx.com.au/i-said-im-in-labour-but-no-one-listened/I supported other women to have babies but faced my own battle alone https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/13/i-supported-other-women-to-have-babies-but-faced-my-own-battle-aloneMusic in this episode includes ‘Salientia’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

This is the trailer for season three of the Birthing and justice podcast. This podcast is for anyone who is interested in helping to transform how birthing is experienced for people who are not the ideal imagined users of health services. For many birthing people – especially those who aren't white, cisgendered, middle class, straight and able bodied –  encountering health systems can be fraught. They can feel unsafe. In season three, I’ll be talking to amazing guests about anti-racism practice in birthing, creating nurturing and empowering spaces for birthing people, and navigating oppressive systems.We’ll hear from  Carla Pascoe-Leahy, Cherisse Buzzacott, Aruna Boodram, Lucinda Canty, Natalie Kon-Yu, Janelle Da Silva, Ritodhi Chakraborty and Aline Carrara.You'll be able to start downloading episodes from May.For more details see: www.ruthdesouza.com/podcastMusic in this episode includes ‘House on the Hill’ by Ketsa, used under a Creative Commons license from Free Music ArchiveBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Synopsis: To Eleanor Jackson, pregnancy and childbirth are formative practical, philosophical, and social experiences that connect us to life force and joy. The arts producer, performer and author of Gravidity and Parity brought a book and a baby into the world during the coronavirus pandemic. She joins us to talk about medical acceptability, shared responsibilities, and birth’s capacity to bring about new relationships between the body and the public that reflect and sometimes transform deeply held political beliefs. Notes:Eleanor’s reflections at the start of the pandemic lockdowns and her third pregnancy. https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/pregnant-in-a-pandemic-facing-physical-distancing-great-unknowns-so-much-more/An article for Meanjin about how deeper engagement with pregnancy and birthing might influence our collective future over the next 80 years (subscription needed)https://meanjin.com.au/essays/gravidity-and-parity/Link to her book Gravidity and Parity which is highly commended in the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. The book explores the narrative opportunities of pregnancy loss, pregnancy and early motherhood set against the unfolding experience of the COVID 19 pandemic.https://vagabondpress.net/products/eleanor-jackson-gravidity-and-parityMusic in this episode includes ‘Me on the Inside’ by Ketsa and ‘Salientia’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Episode Synopsis:  To Helen Ngo, birthing matters because it’s transformative – for new parents and communities as well as newborns themselves – and provides new ways to experience and relate to personal and cultural histories. In this episode, Dr Ngo discusses language and its potential to open us to the world; her experiences as a new parent of reclaiming her ‘mother-tongue’ in order to facilitate inter-generational connections between her children and her parents; the process of developing a new sense of pride in her cultural heritage; as well as embodied experiences of race, white privilege and more.Episode notes: https://deakin.academia.edu/HelenNgohttps://theconversation.com/housing-a-sense-of-self-for-migrant-communities-bilingual-school-programs-are-about-more-than-learning-148099Music in this episode includes ‘Snake’ by M.W.D. and ‘Webbed’ by REWBirthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Episode Synopsis:  Nisha Khot’s experience of working in women’s health in India made her determined to make a difference in the field. Dr Khot’s working experience across various medical contexts around the world, from India and the UK to Melbourne and regional Victoria, brings perspective and depth to her practice. Her current roles see her working across rural and urban settings, moving between education, practice and leadership. She joins us for a chat about health literacy, perinatal rituals, quality and safety in the healthcare system and the need to address systemic racism in Australia’s health system.Episode notes: Just a note that the term M&Ms used in the podcast, refers to Morbidity and Mortality meetings. These are meetings where staff review deaths and complications in order to improve the quality of the care that is being provided to their patients as well as professional learning.Please look after yourself, and access support if you need it. Other  resources available to help are:SANDS https://www.sands.org.auBeyond Blue https://www.beyondblue.org.au/Lifeline 13 11 14 or https://www.lifeline.org.auMusic in this episode includes ‘Things Before Dawn’ by Floating Spirits, ‘For the Record’ by Daniel Birch and ‘Rabota’ by Victoria Darian and Alexei Kalinkin, used under a Creative Commons license from Free Music Archive.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

Episode Synopsis: Annabel Farry's forte is in finding a balance between the personal and political, theory and practice, embodied time and clock time, and the physiological and spiritual. She's a midwife, parent and academic, and a third generation Lebanese immigrant to Aotearoa who considers herself Tangata Tiriti. In this episode, she talks about facilitating cultural safety in birthing services as well as in midwifery education, validating the anxieties of birthing people whilst ensuring equitable care, and ensuring her children can claim their birthright of Te Reo – whilst acknowledging the loss of her Lebanese ancestors' names and language.Episode notes: Comparing perinatal outcomes for healthy pregnant women presenting at primary and tertiary settings in South Auckland: A retrospective cohort study: https://www.midwife.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Jnl-55-article-1-Comparing-perinatal-outcomes.pdfMidwives’ decision-making around artificial rupture of membranes in low-risk labour: https://www.v2.i3-uat.nz/our-work/resources/halo-tool-artificial-rupture-of-membranes-poster/Pasifika women’s choice of birthplace: https://www.midwife.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Jnl-54-article-2-Pasifika-women.pdfMusic in this episode includes ‘Can We Be Friends’ by Lobo Loco, used under a Creative Commons license from Free Music Archive.Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.