Birth Allowed Radio

MOTHER MAY I SERIES - http://bit.ly/consentmovie Rebecca Dekker, a nurse, teacher, PhD researcher, and founder of Evidence Based Birth®, talks with us about the hierarchy of oppression that exists in maternity care, and how that oppression relates to birth (especially doula) work and advocacy. You can learn more about Rebecca’s work at www.evidencebasedbirth.com. > The Hierarchy of Oppression in Birthing In the middle of the night one night, Rebecca got up and started doing research on systems of oppression. She found a theory that said that within any system that has a strong hierarchy, that hierarchy is propped up by two pillars of oppression. The first pillar is the oppressor and includes oppressive factors, like cultures, institutions and people with power that want to keep that oppression in place. Within the system of maternity care, this would include things like the laws governing midwifery. The second pillar, which people don’t think about as much, is the pillar of *internalized oppression*. T