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CHOICES IN CHILDBIRTH

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ESSENTIAL CONVERSATIONS
FOR PREGNANCY, BIRTH AND BEYOND

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WHAT DOES GOOD MATERNITY CARE
MEAN TO YOU?

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BRITTANY: All women
should have access to the birth

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that will not only make them
feel happy about what they've had

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but also that will keep them safe.

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And all women should have the access,
every single one.

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NICOLA: It's not about, "Okay, well,
I'm the doctor, you listen to me."

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We have mutual respect
for what each other does

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and know that we all play an equal role
in these women's care.

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LAUREN: We really wanted to have kids,

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and so we did IVF.

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And after we did that,
we were like,

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"All right, now we have to get ourselves
really prepared for what is to come."

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And so we started
with our childbirth ed class.

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VERONICA: Which was taught by Erica.

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LAUREN: Yeah.

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The first thing I liked
about my primary care people

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was that they asked
about my mental health,

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and they were like,
"How are you feeling about things?"

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And that was the first time that

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through any of our IVF
or our previous appointments,

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-that anyone had asked about that.
-Yeah.

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ERIC: And I feel like they were always

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practicing shared
decision-making with you.

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They would bring
what they were thinking to the table,

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but it was always
also very valuable what you felt,

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what you felt.

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The whole process
was that everyone's voice had a space.

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IT BEGINS WITH MAKING SURE
YOUR CARE FEELS RESPECTFUL AND SAFE.

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AMY: What do we even mean
by good-quality care?

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MIMI: Things like respect
and compassion,

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and like that "L" word that we just
don't use in healthcare, which is love.

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And that might look different for people
from different communities

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and depending on what
their experience has been.

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When they come to see me in my office,

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do they walk out feeling whole
and complete and seen?

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And their questions were answered,
they feel respected,

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whoever came with them feels respected.

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And they want to come back.

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And I think some people will think
that they should go to the person

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who is giving them
their gynecologic care

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or their women's healthcare,

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and that might not be the best person

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to necessarily take care
of your maternity care needs, right?

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And so it's okay to switch.

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You get to decide,
you get to shift, you get to change.

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MOST PEOPLE GET PRENATAL, BIRTH
AND POSTPARTUM CARE FROM A DOCTOR.

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ANOTHER OPTION IS A MIDWIFE.

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MIMI: How I work is as a midwife
working in an integrated model,

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so I see the same people over and over.

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So I really get to know them
in that prenatal period.

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And then they come in labor
onto our unit.

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They continue
to get cared for by a midwife.

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If there is some complication,

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we consult with the OB attendings
that we have on the floor,

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but we continue to take care of them.

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And we have amazing evidence to show
that this model works well for people

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because it's based on relationships.

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POOJA: I think it's so important
to recognize also for those people

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who may not have access to a midwife,

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floor may need to be a choice
because of medical circumstances.

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When you go to give birth to your baby,

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if there's a midwifery service
in that hospital,

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you may be eligible to have
a midwife attend your birth.

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And so it's not all or nothing.

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YOU CAN EXPLORE IF YOU'D RATHER
GIVE BIRTH IN A HOSPITAL OR BIRTH CENTER

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AMY: Freestanding birth centers
are facilities that are really designed

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for people who want to have
that relationship-based care

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throughout pregnancy,

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and then a care provider
that knows them during birth,

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who's going to really support
the normal physiologic process of birth.

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Going to a birth center

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is going to reduce
your likelihood of a C-section.

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It's going to improve your chance

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of successfully meeting
your breastfeeding goals.

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It's going to be
associated with high satisfaction.

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MIMI: Yeah. And I think what the value
of birth centers too

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is that they're built for birth.

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Just experiencing
a space like that or a tour

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also gives you an idea
of what you can ask for in the hospital.

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People in hospitals can also have
water births or labor in a tub or say,

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"You know, I actually don't want
an epidural. I'd like to walk around."

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And understanding
some of these models of care

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helps us go into different settings,

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able to advocate for ourselves
because we know it's possible.

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ANOTHER OPTION YOU MAY NOT
KNOW ABOUT IS GROUP CARE.

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MIMI: So the other model
is the group care model,

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which is a very powerful model.

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You're getting your care
with a group of people

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who are sort of more or less
in the same place in their pregnancy.

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And I think the value of that model is,
again, the relationships that are built

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through the course of care.

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AMY: Yeah, I'm a big fan
of group prenatal care

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and it isn't for everyone,
but these visits are longer,

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so you have just more time
to get your questions answered.

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And also, there's so much
that you can learn from other people

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that are going through
the same thing with you.

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And often the kinds of questions
like how you manage aches and pains

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or how you sort of deal with things
coming up in your relationship

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or how you deal
with mental health issues.

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Someone who's going through it

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can really give you
very valuable advice.

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SEVONNA: And there are also benefits
that carry beyond prenatal, right?

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So now you have children
who are born at the same time, right?

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And so there's networking that happens.

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There's an exchange of,

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"Oh, what lactation consultant
did you use?"

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And there's a sharing
of trusted providers

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that gets to happen,

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and your children play and grow
and crawl on the floor together.

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NO MATTER WHAT GOOD CARE
LOOKS LIKE TO YOU,

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KNOWING YOUR OPTIONS
IS A POWERFUL START.

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So what I'm going to do
before you leave, don't disappear.

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I want to make sure I find out
about the courses and things like that.

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Because my goal
is to see you successful.

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My goal is to see you achieve
what you're looking to achieve,

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not just go there and go,
"Let's see how it goes."

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It's more, I want to make sure
that you're safe, your baby's safe,

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and the people around you are there
to make sure all of that happens,

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but as successfully as possible.

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-Okay?
-Okay, yeah.

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Good to see you, my love.

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FOR MORE RESOURCES, VISIT

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EVERYMOTHERCOUNTS.ORG/CHOICESINCHILDBIRTH

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
EVERY MOTHER COUNTS

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