Birth Monopoly

“She’s Screaming Stop”: Forced Procedures Are Assault

by Cristen Pascucci | Dec 6, 2018 | All, Birth Rights, Birth Trauma, Obstetric Violence, Trauma | 2 comments

“I interrupted and said ‘she said stop, take your hand out of her vagina right now, she said stop!’”

A Call to Advocates: Compassion and Loss in Out-of-Hospital Birth

by Cristen Pascucci | Nov 28, 2018 | Advocacy, All, Birth Trauma, Home Birth, Out of hospital birth, Trauma | 12 comments

If we support out-of-hospital birth, we should welcome these opportunities for growth, even when they are uncomfortable.

When Your Lawyer is Your Doula

by Cristen Pascucci | Oct 23, 2018 | Advocacy, All, Birth Rights, Birth Trauma, For Providers, Trauma | 6 comments

“That doesn’t make sense, for her to wait until after she’s abused to call me. If she’s really worried about it, I can meet her at the hospital as her doula, and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Physician Trauma: A Doctor Answers, Why Do We Sometimes Do Terrible Things?

by Cristen Pascucci | Aug 31, 2018 | All, For Providers, Trauma | 3 comments

Medicine is a culture of trauma, where well-intended folks are immersed in abusive and traumatizing training and then expected to care for others.

Birth Plans Are Never A Joke: Trust, Betrayal, and Misogyny in Maternity Care

by Cristen Pascucci | Nov 20, 2017 | Advocacy, All, Birth Trauma, Obstetric Violence, Trauma | 1 comment

Birth plans are women being smarter than hospitals when hospitals fail to follow humane, science-based practices. That they have to be written down and pre-approved by a doctor is evidence of how little women’s decisions in birth matter.

Letter to an Obstetrician: Forced Vaginal Procedures are Unethical, Traumatic

by Cristen Pascucci | Sep 19, 2016 | Advocacy, All, Birth Rights, Birth Trauma, For Providers, Obstetric Violence, Sexual Trauma, Trauma | 1 comment

The performance of medical procedures without consent on a competent adult is unethical, unprofessional, and possibly illegal. More specifically, when a medical or midwifery professional administers a procedure without the consent of the pregnant or laboring...