Sharing Your Birth Stories
And helping each other heal
In my last post, I invited paid subscribers to share their birth stories, and have been humbled by the response. Clearly, you’re eager to share the pain you’ve experienced, whether it happened five years or two decades ago.
How Does It Work?
Please email me at lisarab@substack.com to let me know you’re interested. Together, we can figure out the best approach. That might be a video call where we talk through your experience, record it, and publish an edited version here. Or you might prefer to write it yourself. Or, you might want to discuss it with me and then decide which parts you’re comfortable sharing. It’s up to you.*
Can I Be Anonymous?
Yes. This is not an expose, it’s an exercise in healing. As a journalist, my goal is to amplify your voice so we can change a health care system that disempowers mothers. I might ask to include certain details, such as your age, the birth venue (hospital vs. birth center or home birth ), and whether this was your first child. But we don’t need to include identifying details that make you uncomfortable.
Where Will It Be Published?
Here. But if you’re open to it, I’d also like to include excerpts from your stories in my book, to illustrate how common these experiences can be. If you are not comfortable with that, no problem, just let me know.
Can I Read Some Examples?
Of course. I was moved by Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s story, which she has recounted in various venues, including this New York Times Magazine article and her novel, Fleishman is in Trouble. Here’s the essay she wrote in 2010, when she first realized that her son’s birth gave her PTSD.
In her book, Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood, Allison Yarrow writes about her experience of postpartum anxiety and trauma. I found her interview with Cheryl Beck, the nurse who helped define birth trauma, particularly striking.
If I had to use one image that women share with me to try and help me understand their traumatic birth, it’s that they felt raped on the delivery table with everybody watching and no one offering to help.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, please feel free to contact me. Telling our stories is a powerful part of healing. Together, we can make the world safer for new mothers.
*If paying $5/month is not feasible for you, please email me anyway and we can work it out.
Love, love, love this concept! As a birth doula, I resonate with how IMPORTANT this work is you're doing. Excited to see how it all continues to evolve!