Last updated January 1, 2023

1. INTENTION

To stay true to our vision and mission, comments on our platform:

Raise the quality of the conversation
Are accurate
Honor families and peoples – in all their expressions
Are informed, empowered, and respectful

2. TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING

Some of the information on our page could be triggering for some people! We’d like to share these tips for communication from our colleague Cristen Pascucci at Birth Monopoly [shared with permission]:

“If you feel your heart racing, your head a little fizzy, very emotional, or overwhelmed by memories, you may be experiencing a trigger. It is usually a good idea to sit in that trigger and feel what you are feeling rather than reacting out to others in that moment. Triggers can be very powerful opportunities for us to address where we need healing, and they can also be damaging when we speak out of them in our hurt.

It is helpful to identify when someone else is acting out of a trigger, and respond by giving them space to process rather than pushing back on their trigger. For example, if someone says, “You should just be happy your baby is healthy and not complain! I had an episiotomy without consent and I didn’t like it but my baby is just fine!” it is usually more useful to simply validate their experience than to argue their comment about you. Like: “I’m glad to hear your baby is healthy, and sorry to hear something was done to your body without your permission.”

It is healing for others when you show that you are listening and hearing rather than trying to advise or fix them.

It’s okay to be wrong and to be vulnerable. It is a good way to build trust and facilitate productive conversation by acknowledging you were wrong and/or were feeling triggered or vulnerable.

It can feel really good to take back your time by walking away from a conversation.”

3. GENDER INCLUSIVITY

Evidence Based Birth® incorporates gender neutral language in the materials that we produce. We affirm and respect that some pregnant and birthing people do not gender identify as women and we strive to accurately reflect this diversity in the language that we use. We also acknowledge that many people giving birth do gender identify as women, and for this reason we have retained gender-specific language as well. We hope that you find our use of language to be both balanced and inclusive.

We accept comments that seek understanding and more information, but comments that express homophobia, transphobia, intolerance, and/or hateful language will be blocked and the commentator banned.

4. RACISM

We have zero tolerance for any racist comments or any comments that may make Black, Indigenous, and People of Color feel unwelcome, devalued, or attacked. Racist comments and “color blind” language will be blocked and the commentator banned. Speech denying the existence of health inequities or questioning the impact of racism on health outcomes will be deleted and/or racism will be deleted, and we reserve the right to ban any commentator.

If you ask a question about the research on racism, and we recommend you do the work to learn more, but you respond without doing any further research/self-education, then we reserve the right to delete any future comments from you.

Please remember that we have Black and Brown team members (some of them who moderate our social media platforms), as well as many valued members of our community who identify as Black and Brown, and we will not compromise their safety by permitting comments that deny the impact of racism.

Note: *RACISM* and white supremacy are the cause of any racial disparities. And remember that there ARE known solutions – Black birth professionals and Black families hold the key!!

If you are willing to take on the work of anti-racism, we have an ongoing collection of resources here: Birth Justice Resources from Evidence Based Birth®

5. CONVERSATIONS SURROUNDING ABORTION

We provide information about abortion in our free Abortion Research Guide, which is accessible from our Birth Justice page. If you have any comments/concerns about our publications on abortion, please first watch this video and check out the FAQ inside the Abortion Research Guide. If you still have comments, you can submit them via the Research Guide itself.

6. REMOVAL FROM PLATFORM

Evidence Based Birth® does not delete or ban people on social media, or block their comments on the website, merely because we disagree with someone. We may do so around the following:

Consistently posting statements or links that are factually incorrect
Statements or links that perpetuate harmful beliefs around racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia
Using hate speech
Denying the humanity of others
Denying the existence of health inequities or questioning the impact of racism on health outcomes
Refusing to self-educate about racism when we recommend that you do so
Multiple commenters targeting or ganging up on someone

7. INFORMED CHOICE

You can choose or refuse to follow this page. We provide information; you have the choice to view what we share or not.

Also, one parting tip… this is not an airport. If you decide to unfollow or unsubscribe, you do not need to announce your departure.