The censorship of BIRTH
It's no secret that those of us in the birth world (and individuals trying to share their experiences open and honestly) walk a fine line when sharing and educating through social media. Just as many do their part to normalize breastfeeding in public by simply just feeding their babies and sometimes receive harsh criticism and reprimand because of it- an increasing number of doulas, childbirth educators and maternal advocates are being censored and banned on social media as being deemed 'pornographic'.
Let's explore.
Birth is real, raw and doesn't exactly fit into the media's portrayal. Both women and men are looking to expand the conversation beyond what we've been told is acceptable, what we've seen on TV and in movies. As a doula one of the greatest things about my profession is to start a conversation that goes beyond just clinical aspects of birth. Let's share the emotions, the expectations, the fear, the joy, the sacred journey of becoming parents. And let's be aware that doesn't always happen under a hospital gown on our backs.
Social Media has become a wonderful tool for sharing and educating about birth in a very global way! In a few clicks you can learn about acceptable birth practices around the world; rituals, traditions, infant and maternal outcomes by region or country. Knowledge is power, a catalyst for change and sadly being stifled by being deemed 'too confronting" or "inappropriate content". So what's so controversial about birth imagery? There's nudity (but it's not pornographic), it's intense and may involve blood (but not in a violent way), it can be primal, to many it's beautiful (but not necessarily in a screen saver sort of way). And maybe that's the problem, we are viewing "confronting" imagery all the time, turn on the television, internet or read the newspaper and you can find many sources for violence + nudity but the difference is we have been condition to accept those. Also let's be clear that these social media accounts are actively setup for the sole purpose of sharing about birth and maternal advocacy, you must seek them out and follow them, which sort of begs the questions why are those that find birth "too confronting" following these accounts in the first place? Unlike violence which will easily find you in your media feeds, childbirth must be actively sought after- it will not randomly find you!
Awareness is key. While we won't correct this issue over night, supporting those doing their best to educate and empower families on choices in childbirth through social media is so important. Go give your favourite media accounts some love!
Social Media has become a wonderful tool for sharing and educating about birth in a very global way! In a few clicks you can learn about acceptable birth practices around the world; rituals, traditions, infant and maternal outcomes by region or country. Knowledge is power, a catalyst for change and sadly being stifled by being deemed 'too confronting" or "inappropriate content". So what's so controversial about birth imagery? There's nudity (but it's not pornographic), it's intense and may involve blood (but not in a violent way), it can be primal, to many it's beautiful (but not necessarily in a screen saver sort of way). And maybe that's the problem, we are viewing "confronting" imagery all the time, turn on the television, internet or read the newspaper and you can find many sources for violence + nudity but the difference is we have been condition to accept those. Also let's be clear that these social media accounts are actively setup for the sole purpose of sharing about birth and maternal advocacy, you must seek them out and follow them, which sort of begs the questions why are those that find birth "too confronting" following these accounts in the first place? Unlike violence which will easily find you in your media feeds, childbirth must be actively sought after- it will not randomly find you!
Awareness is key. While we won't correct this issue over night, supporting those doing their best to educate and empower families on choices in childbirth through social media is so important. Go give your favourite media accounts some love!
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