Ep 35: Bias, Birth & the Burden of Being Believed

Send us Fan MailA woman is eight minutes from delivery, screaming through a wheelchair ride, and a nurse is still asking about “live births.” That moment—followed by another mother turned away to give birth on the roadside—sparked a raw, necessary conversation about disbelief, danger, and the cost of bias on Black women’s bodies.We trace the throughline from the labor ward to the comment section: how joy gets labeled arrogance, how visibility is framed as provocation, and how a simple hello on a dating app can trigger a stranger’s need to diminish. I share my own birth story and the memories that still burn twenty years later, then connect those memories to a nervous system shaped by chronic dismissal. Hypervigilance isn’t drama; it’s adaptation. When medical staff ignore pain or minimize symptoms, the body flips to survival mode, and over time that stress hardens into complex PTSD—one reason Black maternal mortality and Black infant mortality remain disturbingly high in the United States.We also explore the political stage, where double standards make mistreatment for some a scandal and for others a baseline. Through it all, we honor the resilience of Black women—most educated demographic in America—who keep creating, parenting, leading, and loving in a culture that too often refuses to protect us. This conversation offers language, validation, and practical grounding for anyone who’s felt unseen, along with guidance for raising kids who know their worth and can claim their voice early.If this resonates, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show. Tell me: where were you last dismissed, and what would believing you the first time have changed?Support the show