In the past twenty years in the US, the rate of cesarean births has more than doubled; and global rates of cesarean are seeing an equally unprecedented increase. And yet, maternal mortality is also on the rise in the US, which means cesarean is perhaps not quite a medical panacea. Still, about 1 in 3 U.S. women has a cesarean. And black mothers and mothers of color face about three times as high the risk of maternal mortality. What does this all mean for how we talk about and process the risks and rhetoric of birth, women’s bodies, and cesarean surgery in this country? Join us as we talk to Amanda Fields and Rachel Moritz, editors of My Caesarean.
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Theme song by Monplasir. Episode music by Blue Dot Sessions. All tracks used are from the album Aeronut (2013) including “Celestial Navigation,” “Vittoro,” and “Shift of Currents.” Learn more at Free Music Archive
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Hear Amanda and Rachel read from My Caesarean
Amanda reading from her contributing essay “Pulled into Brightness”
Rachel reading from Soojin Pate’s essay, “Her C-Section and Hysterectomy”
Learn More
Buy Rachel and Amanda’s book My Caesarean, published by The Experiment
Amanda references a video on the “Gentle Cesarean” video. Learn more here
Learn more about “the many faces of motherhood” at Literary Mama
Why are cesareans on the rise globally? Learn more here
Maternal mortality is on the rise in the US. Learn more here
Why is maternal mortality so much higher for black mothers and mothers of color? Learn more here and here
