All About Labors of Love Podcast
Welcome to Labors of Love Podcast: Stories Shared by Mothers, Fathers, Midwives, Doulas and other Birth Workers of Color!
We are here to inspire, enlighten and encourage women of color to reconnect and explore all our birthing options. Each week we will hear from Mothers and Fathers as well as those who support us through our birth experiences. Midwives, doulas, childbirth educators and other practitioners will share their wisdom and their journey.
Labors of Love is born out of the need to share and hear positive and uplifting messages and alternative options about pregnancy, labor, delivery and beyond. The need is especially critical in communities of color.
Factors which contribute to this need include higher rates of C-section, infant mortality and maternal morbidity in women of color, according to the Center of Disease Control (CDC) . The effect of racism on disparate childbirth outcomes for women of color is why Labors of Love exists, as a resource in a social welfare paradigm that is unresponsive to women of color. Western medicine and media portray childbirth as a medical procedure that can only happen “safely” in a hospital. There is significant evidence to the contrary. And the fact that, for millennia before modernity, countless women have brought forth life without complication or intervention is unremembered.
Our purpose, through storytelling -an art form as old as birthing- is to slay myths, exam our own beliefs about childbirth and to explore the options available for where and how we give birth. Labors of Love Podcast seeks to build communities and connect the families to the support and resources needed throughout their parenthood journey. Our intention is to be a resource that empowers families of color to make informed decisions that positively impact our community.
About Hafeeza Ture
Founder & Host of Labors of Love Podcast
I am a mother, entrepreneur and facilitator of Labors of Love Podcast. My life’s purpose became clear through the birth and mothering of my three children. When pregnant with my first child, I, like many new mothers, was unaware of the birthing options available to me. Society and media conveyed limiting notions about birth within the context of hospitals, pain and cursing people out, especially the father! C-sections were common and in some instances preferred. None of these scenarios were ideal for me.
It was my children's father who proposed that I consider a birth center. The decision opened my world to mother-centered care and a mother-led birth experience. I had discovered my passion—ensuring that women know their options when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth. What's important to me is not what a mother-to-be chooses, but that she is informed and feels empowered to make the best decisions for her and baby.