Birth Work as Care Work: Stories from Activist Birth Communities - Paperback

by Alana Apfel (Author), Loretta J. Ross (Foreword by), Victoria Law (Preface by)

Birth Work as Care Work presents a vibrant collection of stories and insights from the front lines of birth activist communities. The personal has once more become political, and birth workers, supporters, and doulas now find themselves at the fore of collective struggles for freedom and dignity.

The author, herself a scholar and birth justice organizer, provides a unique platform to explore the political dynamics of birth work, drawing connections between birth, reproductive labor, and the struggles of caregiving communities today. Articulating a politics of care work in and through the reproductive process, the book brings diverse voices into conversation to explore multiple possibilities and avenues for change.

At a moment when agency over our childbirth experiences is increasingly centralized in the hands of professional elites, Birth Work as Care Work presents creative new ways to reimagine the trajectory of our reproductive processes. Most importantly, the contributors present new ways of thinking about the entire life cycle, providing a unique and creative entry point into the essence of all human struggle--the struggle over the reproduction of life itself.

Author Biography

Alana Apfel holds graduate degrees in anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and the University of Edinburgh. Alana teaches on ways to radicalise birth work and continues to support people through birth in Bristol, UK. Silvia Federici is a feminist activist, writer, and teacher. She is the author of Revolution at Point Zero: Housework, Reproduction, and Feminist Struggle. Victoria Law is a mother, photographer, and writer. She is the author of Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women and coeditor of Don't Leave Your Friends Behind: Concrete Ways to Support Families in Social Justice Movements and Communities. Loretta J. Ross was a cofounder and National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. She is one of the creators of the term "Reproductive Justice" coined by African American women following the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.