Birth Words: Language For a Better Birth

This episode is a rebroadcast of Season 1, Episode 71. In this episode, Sara talks about linguistic relativity, her favorite season shift (from winter to spring) and how the term "due date" can be all kinds of problematic!

Advocacy is one of those topics that can get birth workers taking sides and sharing strong opinions. In this episode, I argue that advocacy is the heart and soul of all client-centered birth work, and I frame it in a way that I think you'll agree with me! Get involved as an advocate at all levels of impact--with individuals, in your local environment, and at the state and federal levels. I close t...

In this episode, Ella Mink shares her story of giving birth to her first daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ella was 17 years old at the time and had an amazing water birth at a birth center that ignited her passion for birth, setting her on a path of becoming a birth and postpartum doula and nurse midwife.

In this episode, Sara considers the power of telling your birth story--or your pregnancy or postpartum story. Stories remind us that we are each unique, whole individuals with immeasurable worth and dignity. They highlight the barriers that need to be removed on our path to a better birth experience, and they showcase what's possible if we work together for change. If you'd like to share your stor...

In this episode, Sara confronts the topic of ethics in the birth space. Unfortunately, ethically objectionable things happen frequently in the birth space. Even more unfortunately, they are often not recognized as such. Using the explanations of ethical fading, Sara explores many ethically questionable things that have been justified to be regularly done during birth.   REFERENCES: Betrán, A. P.,...

After a two-year hibernation, Birth Words is being reborn! Season 2 of Birth Words will offer monthly episodes, plus a new twist... listen to this episode to find out more!   TRANSCRIPT: Intro: Welcome to birth words. Words are powerful. What are you doing with yours? In this podcast, birth doula and Applied Linguistics scholar Sara Pixton invites you to be intentional, reflective, and empowering...

In this episode, Sara discusses what to do when family, friends, or others start telling birth "horror stories" at baby showers or in birthing spaces. She uses the framework of narrative analysis to offer ideas about constructive ways to respond in these situations.   TRANSCRIPT: Welcome. This is episode number 78 of Birth Words. Today we'll be talking about what to do when you're in a birth space...

In this episode, Sara interviews pelvic floor PT Betty DeLass. Betty discusses the importance of normalizing pelvic health through talking about it! She also makes an exciting announcement about how she's working to improve the perinatal experience for *everyone*!    TRANSCRIPT: Welcome to episode number 77 of the Birth Words podcast. Today, I am thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Betty DeLass, a pe...

Sara summarizes fetal hearing development, then describes the benefits of talking to your baby during pregnancy--for both you and baby!   TRANSCRIPT: Hello, welcome to episode number 76 of Birth Words. Today's episode is especially for expectant parents, and we'll be talking about why you should talk to your baby in utero. Intro: Welcome to Birth Words. Words are powerful. What are you doing with...

In this episode, guest Meredith Ashton Cohen uses the metaphor of the changing seasons to describe the menstrual cycle and how to live your best life by better understanding each season of the menstrual cycle. TRANSCRIPT: Welcome to Birth Words. This is episode number 75. Today, I'm talking with Meredith Ashton Cohen, certified birth doula and women's health coach, about the menstrual cycle and ho...

This week on the podcast, I'm bringing Birth Words back to its roots. I aired the first episode of Birth Words on June 29, 2019. Since then, I've produced over 70 unique episodes, and gained lots of listeners. And this week, I'm rebroadcasting that very first episode. So, if you haven't yet listened to the story of the birth of Birth Words (or even if you have), give this episode a listen!

In this episode, Sara discusses the concept of communicative repertoires: the idea that we modify the way we speak to fit the circumstances we're in and our relationships (real or intended) with the person we're talking to. Sara poses questions for birthgivers and birthworkers to consider as they communicate with others during pregnancy and birth.

In this week's episode, I talk with Michelle Knight about how the process of giving birth was a great teacher that shaped Michelle's approach to life afterward. We also discuss the power of sharing stories about the challenges of our birth and postpartum experiences. Our words can validate these experiences and invite others to find the support they need as we shift identities while moving into pa...

In this episode, Sara talks about linguistic relativity, her favorite season shift (from winter to spring) and how the term "due date" can be all kinds of problematic!   Resources: Sapir, Edward, and Benjamin Whorf. "The relation of habitual thought and behavior to language."  Language, Thought and Reality  (1956): 134-159. Boroditsky, Lera. How Language Shapes the Way We Think. TED. November 2017...

Birthworkers, this one's for you! In this week's special episode, listen to  four birthworkers discuss what they learned from and loved about the Birth Words In-Depth Workshop for Birthworkers. When you're ready to enroll in the workshop, head over to  www.birthwords.com/classes  and choose the option that works best for you: ONLINE or LIVE (03.27.21 in Lehi, UT).   Earn 8 ICEA contact hours, lear...

In this week's episode, Nikki Shaheed talks about how to discover your heart's question to guide your birth, the various archetypes for approaching the birth experience, and the etiquette for Laborland. Nikki's powerful interview highlights the power of leading with questions, respecting the individuality of each birther and birth experience, and being okay with the unknown.

In this episode, we consider how and to whom we show respect through language. Specifically, we consider the use and impact of titles (or lack thereof) by birth care providers. Sara invites you to be reflective about the care providers you choose, the titles they use or don't use, and the relationships these honorifics support.   REFERENCES: Wardhaugh, Ronald.  An introduction to sociolinguistics...

In this week's episode Kayte Gardner talks about the stories we tell ourselves about birth, birth trauma, and "high-risk" pregnancy and birth. Tune in to hear her tell her stories of loss and feelings of brokenness and of surprising herself and finding a passion in birth work. 

In this episode, Sara discusses the conduit metaphor identified by linguist Michael Reddy. The conduit metaphor is an oversimplification of communication and language. This metaphor assumes that communicating is a simple act of packaging up your meaning in words and sending it to another person, who unproblematically opens it and understands precisely your meaning and intention. But anyone who has...

In this conversation, Alisa, doula and mother to two (soon to be three) talks about her birth stories. She discusses the people who guided her on her path to her beautiful births, and her orgasmic first birth. She also tells about the work she does with her clients to guide them as they discover and claim their power in parenthood.

This episode is the last in the series on figured worlds. (Other episodes in this series include episodes 59, 61, and 63.) In this episode, Sara discusses her narrow lens and assumptions with regard to figured worlds and birth. Then, we conclude the series on figured worlds by discussing prominent environments, institutions, and values in the birth experience.

This week, meet my husband, Clark, as he tells the stories of the births of our three children and reflects on the roles of preparation and language.   REFERENCES: Gee, James Paul.  How to do discourse analysis: A toolkit . Routledge, 2014.

In this episode, Sara talks more about figured worlds and birth, diving into the importance of language, people, and objects. The typical, simplified picture that comes to mind is called a figured world, and it is influenced by the language that we hear and the experiences we've had. Let's be mindful about our language so that we positively influence others' figured worlds about birth!

In this episode, I interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich about her book,  A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812.  We discuss the unique writing style of Martha as an 18th century woman, the changing roles of midwives and doctors at the turn of the 19th century, and the many factors that influence the ways in which women h...

In this episode, we're digging more into figured worlds: the typical story of giving birth. What do people typically assume about the participants, activities, and ways of interacting during pregnancy and birth? REFERENCES: Gee, James Paul.  How to do discourse analysis: A toolkit . Routledge, 2014.