#21: Empowering Yourself: Navigating Maternity Care in the USA with Mackenzie Starcher

On this episode I am joined by Mackenzie Starcher. Mackenzie and I would like to preface this episode by stating that all pregnancies and birth experiences are unique. You know your body and your baby the best. Whatever you may have experienced or have chosen for your pregnancy and birth, WE SUPPORT YOU. We are sharing our perspectives based on LOW RISK pregnancies in the USA. I will put a TRIGGER WARNING here as we know this can be a sensitive topic for people. We go deep and share our opinions about where we think maternity care in the USA is lacking. Mackenzie Starcher is the owner of Transcend Motherhood Co, an experienced HypnoBirthing childbirth educator, certified birth doula, and advocate for informed decision-making before, during, and after birth.  Formerly, Mackenzie was an elementary school educator and has a huge passion for teaching. She believes that when you have all of the information, you can make an empowered choice in your maternity care. She shares so much valuable information and insight through her work. Mackenzie is not afraid to talk about the difficult topics. She truly wants all families to be supported in their pregnancy and birth experiences. It was a pleasure to have her on the A Nourishing Place podcast to discuss her perspective on the misconceptions around maternity care in the United States of America. You know I share my perspective as well, while we chat about this vast topic. Thank you for tuning in today. Below you will find the questions and topics of discussion.  We talk about how important having all of the information is (not just the info the hospital gives you). We talk about three main misconceptions asking: - Is the hospital is the safest place for every person to birth no matter what is going on in your pregnancy? - Do doulas and midwives only support people during a home birth? What are doulas? - Is birth is just inherently traumatic, painful and should you just plan to be miserable? You can connect with Mackenzie at www.transcendmotherhoodco.com or on Instagram She welcomes you to pop into her DMs with any question you may have!! www.theearthandspiritwitch.com https://www.instagram.com/theearthandspiritwitch/