EBB 369 - What is Mistreatment in Childbirth? with Dr. Morgan Richardson Cayama from Team EBB

Evidence Based Birth®

Rebecca Dekker

Kids & Family, Medicine, Parenting, Health & Fitness

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr. Morgan Richardson Cayama, public health researcher, doula, and member of Team EBB, joins Dr. Rebecca Dekker to explore the critical issue of mistreatment in maternity care. Drawing from her doctoral research—including interviews with Black women in Florida and data from the Giving Voice to Mothers study—Dr. Morgan shares what respectful maternity care really looks like, and how the lack of it can negatively impact birth outcomes and future healthcare decisions. She also opens up about her own preterm hospital birth, offering insight into how even the most informed parents can feel disempowered by coercive hospital systems. Together, they break down the systemic roots of obstetric violence and offer community-driven recommendations for change.

Content Note: Discussion of obstetric mistreatment, medical trauma, discrimination in maternity care, and stillbirth.

(04:35) How a Global Health Class Sparked a Career in Public Health
(08:17) From Dissertation to Delivery: Dr. Morgan's Birth Story
(15:57) Reflecting on the Power of Language and Provider Ultimatums
(19:40) What Mistreatment in Maternity Care Looks Like in the U.S.
(24:08) Florida's Unique Birth Landscape
(26:10) Researching the Lived Experiences of Black Birthing Women
(28:13) What Respectful Care Really Means to Patients
(35:29) Participant Recommendations for Healthcare Providers and Parents
(40:01) How a Single Birth Interaction Can Shape Lifelong Views on Healthcare
(42:00) Centering the Voices of Birthing People to Create Change

Resources

Access the FREE 2-page handout: ebbirth.com/rmc

Read the Giving Voice to Mothers study: birthplacelab.org

Listen to EBB 338 – Respectful Maternity Care with Dr. Jessica Brumley

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 Dr. Morgan Richardson-Kayama about
0:04.9	mistreatment in maternity care.
0:10.3	Welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast. My name is Rebecca Decker, and I'm a nurse with my PhD
0:15.9	and the founder of evidence-based birth. Join me each week as we work together to get evidence-based information
0:22.7	into the hands of families and professionals around the world. As a reminder, this information
0:28.2	is not medical advice. See eBbirth.com slash disclaimer for more details. Hi, everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the Evidence-based Birth Podcast.
0:40.3	This August, we've been celebrating Team EBB with the special podcast takeover series, and it has
0:46.8	been such a joy to highlight the voices and stories of the people behind evidence-based birth
0:52.5	who are bringing this work that we do to life.
0:55.5	We kicked things off by going back to the very start of evidence-based birth with a new recording
1:00.4	of episode one where I shared my own personal birth experiences and how they shaped my purpose in this
1:06.4	work. In episode 367, we heard from Jen Anderson, registered nurse, Dula, and member of our programs team at EBB,
1:13.9	who impact recent concerning trends in labor induction and what those changes mean for birth workers
1:20.3	and families. Next, in episode 368, IBCLC, Dula, and EBB instructor coordinator, Ricky Jenkins, and her husband Nova, joined us to share the moving story of their cesarean birth.
1:33.2	If you missed any of these conversations, I encourage you to go back to the beginning of August 2025 and catch up, because each episode will give you a unique perspective on the work we do here at EBB.
1:45.2	Today, we're wrapping up our team series with Dr. Morgan Richardson Kayama from our research team who is here to talk about
1:50.3	respectful maternity care, what that looks like in practice, why it matters, and how it connects
1:55.9	to the larger issues of rights and equity in pregnancy and birth. And I'm also excited to announce that along
2:03.1	with this episode, we're unveiling a brand new two-page handout on the evidence on respectful
2:08.7	care in pregnancy and birth. This free resource is packed with evidence-based information about
2:14.2	your rights in childbirth, common forms of mistreatment, how to spot red flags
2:19.4	and green flags in a care provider, and what the professional guidelines recommend. To get your copy,
	...

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