EBB 363 - A Remarkable Journey from "Babies Are Not Pizzas" Student to Critical Care Nurse to Nurse Midwife with Liz Carr, CNM

Evidence Based Birth®

Rebecca Dekker

Kids & Family, Medicine, Parenting, Health & Fitness

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From ICU to birth center, Liz Carr's story is a reminder that midwives come to this work through many paths, and each journey holds wisdom for the future of maternal care.

In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Dekker reconnects with former nursing student turned certified nurse midwife, Liz Carr. Liz shares her unique trajectory: from critical care nursing to catching babies, from witnessing obstetric violence as a student to providing trauma-informed, evidence-based midwifery care. Liz and Rebecca explore the impact of diverse clinical experiences, the challenges of navigating midwifery school without labor and delivery experience, and the transformative power of reproductive justice. Liz also opens up about working in abortion care before and after the fall of Roe v. Wade, how she centers consent and autonomy in every interaction, and why investing in the education of future physicians is one of her biggest hopes for change.

Content Note: This episode contains discussion of obstetric violence (non-consented episiotomy) and providing abortion care.

(00:00) Liz Carr's Journey from Nursing Student to Certified Nurse Midwife
(04:27) Early Inspiration and Moving to Kentucky
(08:02) Witnessing Harmful Obstetric Practices and Choosing a Different Path
(11:53) Gaining Lifesaving Skills as a Critical Care Nurse
(16:30) Transitioning from ICU Nurse to Birth Work through Doula Training
(21:24) Midwifery Education and Clinical Challenges
(25:39) Abortion Care Training at CHOICES Before and After Roe v. Wade
(32:46) Systemic Barriers and the Importance of Postpartum Support
(35:36) Most Memorable Births and Special Moments
(37:13) Teaching Medical Residents and Modeling Consent
(40:54) Advice for Aspiring Midwives and Navigating Career Choices
(45:01) Red Flags and Green Flags in Job Interviews
(48:04) When Slower Access to Surgery Leads to Better Birth Outcomes

To sign up for the EBB Summer Series, visit ebbirth.com/summer!

Resources

Explore Choices Center for Reproductive Health

Read about the Turnaway Study

Check your hospital's stats at the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Learn more about Frontier Nursing University

Get your copy of Babies Are Not Pizzas

For more information about Evidence Based Birth® and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone. On today's podcast, we're going to talk with Liz Carr, a former nursing student
0:05.8	of mine, about her journey from nursing student to critical care nurse to certified nurse
0:11.0	midwife.
0:15.2	Welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast. My name is Rebecca Decker and I'm a nurse with my
0:20.5	Ph.D. and the founder of
0:22.2	evidence-based birth. Join me each week as we work together to get evidence-based information
0:27.7	into the hands of families and professionals around the world. As a reminder, this information
0:33.2	is not medical advice. See eBbirth.com slash disclaimer for more details.
0:41.3	Hi everyone and welcome to today's episode of the evidence-based birth podcast. Before we get started,
0:47.2	I wanted to ask you, would you like to join me in a summer educational series? Starting this coming
0:53.1	Tuesday, July 8, we're kicking off a six-part
0:56.3	live lecture series called How to Help Families Get Evidence-Based Care inside the EBB Pro membership.
1:02.1	This series is designed to help you build your knowledge, stay grounded in the latest research,
1:06.8	and feel more confident as you support families. So what's the summer lecture series all about?
1:12.2	Well, this July and August, I'll be presenting on topics like models of care, the research on birth
1:17.2	settings, labor support, and childbirth education, and we will also be talking about human rights
1:22.3	and informed consent and refusal in birth. The very first session is titled, What is Evidence-Based Care? And it starts
1:29.3	on Tuesday, July 8 at 1 p.m. Eastern. In this first session, we'll break down what evidence-based
1:35.3	care really means, how it's different from routine care, and why it matters for the work that you do
1:40.8	as a birth worker or health care professional. The series continues through Tuesday,
1:45.0	August 26, and if you complete all six sessions, you'll have the opportunity to earn contact
1:49.9	hours for nurses, nurse midwives, and physicians. And if you miss a session or can't make it live,
	...

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