We must give women the opportunity to challenge their fears, to work with them and birth through them. Not only will this change each woman, it will change the political and medical climate in which they make these choices."
- Connee L. Pike-Urlacher

When I was a nursing student rotating at a prestigious hospital’s high-risk unit, I met a homeless woman. She arrived to the unit in active labor; dropped off by an ambulance that refused to take her to the hospital that had been providing her with prenatal care. Alarmed and distressed, the nurses and doctors asked her a slew of questions with impatient sighs and repeated remarks such as “You should have gone to your hospital.” After attempting to explain her circumstances, the woman stated that she had recently been evicted and was due in housing court at that moment. She had to make a phone call: not to break the exciting news that the baby was coming but to plead for an extension. She was afraid her stuff would be on the streets. The staff asked: “Are you on drugs?” and, “Do you have HIV?”, etc. The questions came in twos as if they had to be asked twice to give a miraculous twist of truth. She was alone. With no family to help her breathe through the contractions and rub her back. At that point, I had been a doula and a mom for three years and knew that this could not possibly be in anyone’s birth plan. I held her hand and she looked at me for reassurance while she was spoken to disrespectfully. At one point she asked me to come very close and speaking as if she was revealing an embarrassing secret, whispered in one breath: “I need you”.

As a Labor and Delivery Nurse, mother of two and doula, I have heard numerous birth stories and witnessed more than a few. Unfortunately, many of the women that I have met have had traumatic birth experiences. A couple of mothers have even told me they did not want share their labor experiences. Mothers bear many challenges in nurturing their unborn and, as women, have most likely survived abuse, harassment, and oppression. Labor should be a time when another generation is initiated into the world with love, respect, and support. Unfortunately that is often not the case.

My objective is to create a short film to give voice to poor and working class women (immigrants, women of color, and LGBT women) with diverse experiences with Birth — The Dar A Luz Project. In Spanish, “dar a luz” means to give light, the phrase popularly used to indicate labor. The project stands not only to give light to the background of midwifery and information on the birthing crisis but also to give birth to the belief that we have choices. This is important because politicians, insurance companies, and the medical industry are curtailing our options. Many Labor and Delivery units have closed in recent years and many birth centers have gone out of business as a result of tremendously high cost of malpractice insurances. There are state laws that allow public breast-feeding but many mothers are humiliated when that right is not respected. Outsiders are dictating the way mothers provide optimal nutrition. The Dar a Luz Project will provide a radical and international perspective on birthing practices in this world, help women access relevant information, and advocate for midwifery. It is intended to challenge the notion that natural birthing is just a back-to-nature phenomenon. It is also a future option to every single, non-high-risk, pregnant mom. Our stories are meant to be told in love and in light.

Carry it on in freedom and struggle,
Sasa Ynoa, RN, BSN, Doula