Birthing and Justice with Dr Ruth De Souza

Dr Ruth De Souza

Childbirth is supposed to be empowering, but for many birthing people it is not. For Indigenous women, immigrant women and women of colour, birthing within the western healthcare system can be anything but affirming. It can feel unsafe. In this raw and challenging talks series, health researcher, clinician and nursing educator Dr Ruth De Souza (RMIT University) hosts conversations about birth, racism and cultural safety with change makers working within the maternal health-care sector to break down the structures built on colonisation. This is a series that will give birthing people hope and power when they’re at their most vulnerable.

  1. Series 4 Episode 8: Favorite Iradukunda on decolonisation, justice and inclusion

    03/01/2023

    Series 4 Episode 8: Favorite Iradukunda on decolonisation, justice and inclusion

    Synopsis: Diasporic nurse scholar Dr. Favorite Iradukunda studied in Rwanda, South Africa and the United States. She is a global nurse leader and commited to decolonising nursing through an African lens. She combines her research on advancing the holistic well-being of African-diasporic women, with activism in black birth equity and justice. Notes: Google Scholar Dr. Favorite's personal website Dr. Favorite Iradukunda on Twitter  Music: Music in this episode includes ‘Native American Dream’ by AudioLion used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    40 min
  2. Series 4 Episode 7: Hannah Donnelly and Omar Sakr on centering the birth experience under capitalism

    02/21/2023

    Series 4 Episode 7: Hannah Donnelly and Omar Sakr on centering the birth experience under capitalism

    Synopsis: Experiencing a “high risk” pregnancy and birth while growing a new life during the pandemic was transformative for Wiradjuri writer and producer Hannah Donnelly, and Arab-Turkish partner, writer Omar Sakr. We talk about queering birth, the administrative load of pregnancy, and the need for collective infrastructure to improve birthing experiences and outcomes for families and communities. Notes: Hannah Blacklight: Ten Years of First Nations Storytelling edited by Hannah Donnelly Arts and Cultural Exchange (ACE) Westmead Dragonfly Midwifery Omar Non-Essential Work by Omar Sakr Shelf Reflection: Omar Sakr Three poems by Omar Sakr Music: Music in this episode includes ‘Dream Drone’ by Yigit Atilla, and ‘ZEN’ by All Bets Off used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    54 min
  3. Series 4 Episode 6 Sapna Samant on being a GP, creative practitioner and adoptive single parent

    02/14/2023

    Series 4 Episode 6 Sapna Samant on being a GP, creative practitioner and adoptive single parent

    Synopsis: Dr. Sapna Samant, is a GP, radio producer, film maker, activist, and single adoptive parent and is passionately committed to social justice. Both her creative work and medical practice strive for  equity and work to rectify injustice wherever it occurs. Notes: Twitter Mastodon Sapna's blog What Bridgerton gets right and wrong about being Indian Music: Music in this episode includes ‘Exclusiva One’ by Vzen Instrumental Beat used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock.  Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    43 min
  4. Series 4 Episode 5 Aseel Tayah on connecting communities through creativity and storytelling

    02/01/2023

    Series 4 Episode 5 Aseel Tayah on connecting communities through creativity and storytelling

    Synopsis: Melbourne-based artist and cultural leader Aseel Tayah was born and raised in Jerusalem and is passionate about the role of the arts in connecting diverse communities across generations. Aseel uses art and storytelling to foreground the experiences of displaced people and advocate for artists of color, mothers, children and young people — changing the world, one project at a time. Notes: Aseel's website Aseel Tayah: The home that lives within (YouTube) Music: Music in this episode includes ‘AERATE’ by Higher Power, and ‘Native American Dream’ by AudioLion used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    38 min
  5. Series 4 Episode 4: Sara Motta on feminine lineages, healing justice, and reconnecting to the ancestral Mother

    01/31/2023

    Series 4 Episode 4: Sara Motta on feminine lineages, healing justice, and reconnecting to the ancestral Mother

    Synopsis: How do Indigenous communities weave together ancestral feminine lineages? This question is at the heart of Associate Professor Sara Motta’s praxis of transformation and collective liberation. Through a lens of feminised resistance, Sara, a proud mestiza salvaje, shares her healing journey from the wounds of patriarchal capitalist-coloniality, exploring restorative and reparative pathways of well-being and justice. Notes: Sara's personal website Geneologies (M)otherwise Weaving Enfleshed Citizenship (M)otherwise Voices of el pueblo: the road to the Colombian elections Decolonising critique in, against and beyond the business school Decolonising (critical) social theory: Enfleshing post-Covid futurities Music in this episode includes ‘ZEN’ by All Bets Off, and ‘AERATE’ by Higher Power used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    45 min
  6. Series 4 Episode 3: Alice Te Punga Somerville on fertility and making babies for the revolution

    01/25/2023

    Series 4 Episode 3: Alice Te Punga Somerville on fertility and making babies for the revolution

    Synopsis: Birthing holds a different significance for Indigenous communities that have experienced colonial attempts at elimination. For scholar, poet and irredentist Professor Alice Te Punga Somerville, (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki), birth is an act of resistance. She joins us to talk about her journey to parenthood and her experiences as a scholar who traverses between Indigeneity and migrancy. Notes: UBC academic page Personal website Alice Te Punga Somerville: My story as told to Elisabeth Easther Alice Te Punga Somerville and the politics of italics Important reading and writing questions for Alice Te Punga Somerville Writing while colonised Buy her first book of poetry Music: Music in this episode includes ‘SMOOTH LIFE’ by Killer Chops used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    49 min
  7. Series 4: Episode 2 Cath Chamberlain on transforming intergenerational trauma.

    01/18/2023

    Series 4: Episode 2 Cath Chamberlain on transforming intergenerational trauma.

    Synopsis: For Professor Cath Chamberlain, babies are a gift from the ancestors and birth is a critical life event. But what if this time is coupled with intergenerational and complex trauma? Cath is a  Palawa Trawlwoolway woman, registered midwife, and public health researcher who works to support the emotional and spiritual well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents experiencing trauma. In this critical conversation, Cath talks about her passion for healing the past by nurturing the future, improving health equity, and building perinatal awareness through storytelling and deep listening. Notes: Making a decision to do the hard research, that’s what discovery is about Leadership award for health researcher MRFF Success - Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous Mothers and Babies Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families to Stay Together from the Start (SAFeST Start): Urgent call to action to address crisis in infant removals Music: Music in this episode includes ‘Developing Peace Health Wellness’ by Luca Tomassini, and ‘Unbend’ by Solix Music used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    34 min
  8. Series 4 Episode 1: Jacynta Krakouer and Indigo Willing on how colonisation and the idea of the “white saviour” have shaped responses to child welfare

    01/11/2023

    Series 4 Episode 1: Jacynta Krakouer and Indigo Willing on how colonisation and the idea of the “white saviour” have shaped responses to child welfare

    Synopsis: What does it mean to be part of a community without access to your birthing stories? Dr Jacynta Krakouer, a Mineng Noongar social worker and Dr Indigo Willing, a sociologist and adoptee from Vietnam contribute a powerful discussion about the history and politics of out-of-home care and inter-country adoption addressing justice, kinship, and belonging. Jacynta and Indigo bring their lived experience and their community advocacy into dialogue with a critical analysis of the institutions and mindsets that underpin how children are born in the lands now known as Australia. Notes: Links to Jacynta's work ResearchGate Google Scholar Separated at birth: Racism and unconscious bias in perinatal health services The Family Matters report 2022 First Nations families need support to stay together, before we create another Stolen Generation First Nations children are still being removed at disproportionate rates. Cultural assumptions about parenting need to change Links to Indi's work Research Gate Google Scholar Siren Spotlight: Hybrid academic careers in sport—bridging scholarship, community, and consultancy work Podcast interview on The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen Erika Hayasaki presents "Somewhere Sisters" with Indigo Willing We Skate Queensland Music Music in this episode includes ‘Developing Peace Health Wellness’ by Luca Tomassini, and ‘Native American Dream’ by AudioLion used under an Audio Standard Licence from Adobe Stock. Birthing and Justice is written and produced by Dr Ruth De Souza on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nations. Sound editing by Olivia Smith.

    59 min
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Childbirth is supposed to be empowering, but for many birthing people it is not. For Indigenous women, immigrant women and women of colour, birthing within the western healthcare system can be anything but affirming. It can feel unsafe. In this raw and challenging talks series, health researcher, clinician and nursing educator Dr Ruth De Souza (RMIT University) hosts conversations about birth, racism and cultural safety with change makers working within the maternal health-care sector to break down the structures built on colonisation. This is a series that will give birthing people hope and power when they’re at their most vulnerable.

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