When I initially began working on my capstone project, I envisioned a digital archive of objects related to female health in the 19th century. I was struck by the intrinsic absurdity of some of these objects that revealed a misunderstanding and mistreatment of the female body. As I continued working, I began noticing the objects around me that related to female health, and asking what they revealed about the current cultural understanding and valuation of the female body. I started to archive these objects as well. These archives provide a glimpse of the progress made since the 19th century and reveal weaknesses of the current treatment of the female body. These objects speak for themselves, but I also wanted to create a space where women could speak about their own experiences. And so, I created the Natal Narrative Podcast.

On this podcast I interview different women about their birth experiences. Birth is a process that every woman seems to feel differently about. So many women want natural births, while other women want an epidural as soon as possible. Some women want to give birth at home, some women want to have their baby in a hospital. Some women want only a few people around them, while others want as much support as possible. Every woman’s story is different. I’ve talked to a women who gave birth during an earthquake, a women who had to be cut out of her favorite jeans because she dilated so quickly, a woman who did a 2000 piece puzzle twice during her 72 hour labor, and a woman who was hypnotized so that she felt no pain. As narratives, birth stories are wonderful. They have moments of fear, humor, pain, appreciation, endurance, and, or course, love.

The podcast exists primarily to give women a chance to tell their birth stories. One woman I spoke to said she had only had the opportunity to tell her birth story twice before and both of those experiences had been negative. This woman had an entirely natural birth, so when she told another mother about it, the other mother started crying. That woman had tried and failed to have a natural birth. The woman I interviewed said she liked telling her birth story. She was proud of it, but until our interview she was afraid to bring it up. She didn't want other mothers to be jealous of her experience. 

So many women think that people don’t want to hear about their births. My future mother in law started talking about her birth experience with her second son and stopped abruptly. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear this.” I assured her I did. I really, really did.  Because the female body is supposed to be clean and contained 

women don’t always feel comfortable sharing their birth stories. Birth is messy. But birth is also an instance of female strength and power. Women want to share these stories, but they aren’t sure who their audience is. They don’t know that people want to listen.

When I initially started working on interviews for the Natal Narrative Podcast, I had certain expectations. I had read The Doula Book, heard midwives and doulas speak about natural birth, taken a class called "Gender, Body, and Health" that taught birth was a medicalized natural event. It was a natural process that should be done in the comfort of home. A stressful environment like a hospital made it hard for women to perform. I firmly believed all of these things until I started talking to real women. 

The thing that surprised me the most was not only how different every individual birth was, but also how different the expectations and desires were for each birth.  I've thought about giving birth a lot. I had everything planned in my head. I wanted all of the important women in my life around me, like in The Red Tent. I wanted to be in a birthing center that was more like a spa than a hospital with fluffy white robes, not hospital gowns that open in the back, and midwives that spoke in yoga instructor-soothing voices. When the time came to deliver my baby, I wanted to pull him or her out, like Kourtney Kardashian. I wouldn't have any pain medication, I would simply bask in the glory of my amazing body. 

After hearing about actual birth experiences, I realize my vision is unrealistic, however I do think that my ideal birth experience reveals things about me that are specific to my upbringing. I come from a primarily female household, four women, one man. Female relationships have been the most significant in my life. In a position of vulnerability, I want to be around women. I didn’t want to give birth in a hospital, but I did want to give birth in one where medical professionals were readily available. As the product of a C-section, I understand the complications that can accompany birth. And finally, I want to be the one to deliver my baby because I was taught by my own mother that birth is an instance of female power. 

Almost every woman I’ve talk to has had a different vision of birth. My mom wanted to give birth in a bathtub, at home, with a curated playlist. Her college roommate wanted an epidural immediately. My future mother-in-law didn’t mind giving birth alone; instead of calling her husband at work, she left a note on the counter and drove herself to the hospital. My cousin Julie was comforted by the idea of a hospital setting and the authority of a doctor. She told her doctor, "I respond well to instruction, so please just tell me exactly what to do." Every woman comes with individual experiences, fears, and values. These shape each woman’s choices and desires for her birth experience, and her later pride or frustration with the reality of that experience.

In this podcast, you will hear stories of women with varying birth experiences. Some women have had positive experiences, and others have had negative ones. This podcast is designed to celebrate the birth experiences of individual women, but it also exists to raise questions about current practices, rhetoric, and values that exist around the modern birth experience.