Coercion, Mental Health & Racism in Birth with Dr Sayida Peprah & Dr Erin Bowe
Episode 30 of the Birth Trauma Training for Birth Workers podcast
Coercion, Mental Health & Racism in Birth with Dr Sayida Peprah
We have a genuine health crisis that’s occurring on a global level. Get out of your bubble. I’m not an expert. There is a LOT about birth and trauma that I don’t know and I’m not shy to admit that I’m sure this comes across in many of the interviews I’ve conducted on this podcast. But do you what’s a really easy thing to do – is reach and have a conversation. Actively choose to have conversations with people who aren’t in your bubble.
Dr Sayida Peprah is one of those beautiful people I reached out to. Like me, she is a Clinical Psychologist. She’s also a doula and the founder and lead trainer of Diversity Uplifts. Part of her work is training people to see their implicit bias and working towards compassion rather than fear mongering and coercion.
In this episode we chat about language in the birth space and this phrase “no time for…” I’m sure you’ve heard it. There’s an emergency situation in a birth and people will insist that there’s no time for niceties.
And yet, as Psychologists, we are defying this myth every day. A Psychologist’s job, in part, is to navigate emergencies – talking people down from suicide or homicide. Hostage situations where people have a knife, a gun or a bomb. We manage to be calm and care for people with a quiet voice. We don’t rush, yell at people, talk down to them or ignore them. We make a human connection. We help people feel seen, heard and safe.
If our child is hurt, we explain what is happening, we reassure them that they are seen and heard and acknowledge their fears and pain. These are skills I want translated into the birth space.
You can find Dr Peprah at www. Drsayidauplifts.org and on Instagram @drsayida
I teach people about trauma. I'm a Clinical Psychologist of over 10 years, and I work with birthing people and birth workers. I do a mix of counselling, coaching, supervision and of course I have two birth trauma courses.
You can reach me @doctorerinbowe on instagram or www.doctorerin.com.au
Birth trauma training for birth workers the online course now has over 600 enrolments.
My other course, More Than a Healthy Baby: How to Cope With Birth Trauma is perfect for parents and birth workers who are navigating their own trauma. It’s an a la carte menu of some of my best tools and strategies. It’s not a replacement for therapy but it’s a starting point.
Links are at www.doctorerin.com.au