Doula Support: How to Advocate for Your Rights During Birth and Postpartum (Ep. 444)

This episode explores how doulas integrate themselves into the healthcare system to enhance outcomes for mothers, families, and babies. There are countless benefits to hiring a doula to improve the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience. Join us to learn more! HeHe Stewart is a leading childbirth educator, advocate, and maternity care reform expert. With a master’s in human development and over a decade of experience, she empowers families with evidence-based birth prep, informed decision-making, and postpartum readiness. She is a fierce advocate for informed consent, reducing unnecessary interventions, and ensuring patient autonomy in birth. Beyond working with families, HeHe is actively involved in legislative efforts to improve women’s health policies and expand access to midwifery care. She works to reform maternity care by advocating for patient rights, increased birth options, and improved mental health outcomes. As the host of The Birth Lounge Podcast, HeHe interviews leading experts in women’s health, pregnancy, and newborn development, giving parents the knowledge they need to navigate birth and postpartum with confidence. Her work continues to drive meaningful change through education, advocacy, and policy reform.  Show Highlights: HeHe’s path to this work–a continual emphasis on advocacy Birth doulas and postpartum doulas: What they do and how they help A doula is beneficial for every pregnancy and birth, offering unique care. The intimate relationship between doula and client (“I have a cheerleader who will advocate for me.”) The benefits of a birth doula result in reduced risks and problems. HeHe’s role in “pausing the room and giving space” for the patient to ask questions of the healthcare providers The big lesson for healthcare providers: The person who’s giving birth will never forget how you make them feel in their experience.  When a doula notices problems and needs to intervene Doing better for women in pregnancy and the postpartum What HeHe wants women to know about self-advocacy Resources: Connect with HeHe Stewart: The Birth Lounge, Tranquility by HeHe, The Birth Lounge Instagram, Tranquility by HeHe Instagram, and The Birth Lounge App (available from the Apple App Store and Google Play) Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to be more supportive in offering services.  You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.   Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today! If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices