EDITED: Birthworker Bookclub: The 4 Kinds of Books Every Birthworker Should Read PLUS A New Years Resolution!

EDIT: This Blog was written on Tuesday, the 5th and posted Wednesday (the 6th) morning. However, on Wednesday afternoon I felt the need to address the display of white supremacy at our capital, which if we understand the foundations and systems that we were built on, was not a surprise. Below you will find books, each in its own way, meant to help you understand this a little more. 

Now back to the regularly scheduled post :)

Coming off of a year like 2020, I feel like I’m seeing two kinds of New Year posts.  The first is along the lines of, “Rock n’roll, let’s DO THIS! Whoo! *smashes energy drink can on forehead*”.  The other is on the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s more, “Everyone refresh their sweatpants stock? Good, cuz we are tip-toeing real nice and easy in 2021...no sudden moves (sips tea)”.  Let me say, both of those reactions make a ton of sense.  I’m falling a little into both camps.  On one hand, I’ve gotten vaccinated and I’m desperate to travel to Europe to visit my man’s family in the Basque Country (hopefully) in July. On the other hand, between hospital work and homeschooling my first-grader, I definitely have the “keep your hands where I can see them, 2021” mentality as well. 

So all this to say: friends, I’ve got a New Years Resolution that is great however you are approaching 2021.  Read. More. Books. And if you have other goals, books are still the answer. Trying to cut down on social media? You’ll need a book for those itchy fingers.  Healthier bedtime routine or better sleep? Pre-bed reading is lovely. Increased urgency in you desire to fight for justice? We got books for that! Up-level in your professional life? Pick up a gosh darn book! Specifically, read books that will help you feel engaged and connected with the important work birthworkers of all kinds, but especially hospital OB nurses, have in front of us. OB nurses: consider these required reading!  I’ve broken them into fours main categories, depending on your mood. 

Fiction

The fiction we choose makes a huge impact on our ability to be an empathetic nurse, caring for a diverse population.  Look at your bookshelf.  Notice the authors.  Mostly men or mostly women? Mostly American or other nationalities? Mostly white or mostly POC? When I looked at my shelf a few years ago, it was primarily inhabited by books by authors who were white and American. Now, all but a few are by women of color. Reading a diverse authorship is is an important step to take to become a more conscious and informed nurse.  It’s a tool to help us navigate our personal identity and privilege. It helps us see how we intersect with people, histories and systems that extend beyond us. See my top 5 fiction books here.

Memoirs

Memoirs are another great way to broaden your awareness.  This year, I specifically read a lot of memoirs by midwives who delivered babies out of hospital.  As a hospital OB nurse, when it comes to homebirth, the general consensus seems to be us vs them.  My first experiences with homebirth were when laboring women were transferred to us, for a variety of reasons.  From my first experiences 13 years ago, it would be easy to think every transfer needed to result in a cesarean section.  Of course, if we never see the successful homebirths, we don’t believe they exist.  But of course they do!  And when it comes to maternal outcomes, sorry to tell ya folks, the homebirth crowd is kicking our inpatient-butts. That’s just one reason an increasing number of folks are choosing homebirth. There are others. But a good first step for all inpatient nurses is to get acquainted with it, especially if we want to be able to have sophisticated view of the challenges our maternity care system faces.  See my 7 favorite memoirs here.

Skillz

Conferences are great. Online courses are great.  But books are a cheap and readily available resource for nurses who want to be experts.  Who want to be that nurse who is soooo goooood with all the situations.  That nurse who gets a cool nick-name, like the Vagician because of her mad skills.  Practical, topic-specific books can help give perspective as well as tools, skills and knowledge.  For all the hospital training and mandatory education OB nurses get, it's rare that such basic topics as physiologic birth, labor progress and trauma are covered.  And sometimes, what we need to learn and grow as a nurse, isn’t about our patient. Sometimes the work of professional development is really about personal development. It can be about looking at our own patterns and attachments, finding purpose, or learning the ‘soft-skills’ of communication and leadership. See my top 6 practical must-haves here.

Books about The System

You are a good labor nurse. You care A LOT.  But the fact is, the American maternity care system is not making the grade.  Maybe you’ve known for awhile that our maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity statistics are shameful.  Certainly, you can’t have missed the fact that black women are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women (and yes, that’s controlled for every other variable). And term infants are twice as likely to die than our European counterparts.  Let me be abundantly clear: you have a professional duty to work for the changes we need to do better by our patients and families.  But first...you might want to do a little reading. These issues are complex, are generational, and are rooted in patriarchy and white-supremacy (thats not a point of debate: please see the fantastic National AWHONN Conference talks this year and last that covered this).  You can’t have an informed perspective from social media alone. See my 4 favorite books that make you re-think what you know about Inpatient OB here.

There you have it, my book-loving birthworker! Your next years worth of reading material.  No matter how you are sliding/racing/sneaking into 2021, reading more books will serve you and your patients well. And be sure to share your latest birth-related book on Instagram and use the hashtag #birthworkerbookclub to let us know what you're reading. 

And to pick out your next birthworker read, click this link to visit my Bookshop.  10% of the cost goes to local bookshops (not Amazon) and 100% of my personal commission will go to rad causes. Right now we are directing $$ to China Tolliver, an activist and founder of Rise Up Midwife, who does such great work.  She is wanting to support the unsheltered in the community with a mobile medical bus. See her post on Instagram and FOR SURE follow her @chinatolliver.  I’ve learned a lot from her and am excited to show gratitude!