Wrote the First Play Based on Birth Stories

Karen Brody - Playwright, Mother, Birth Activist   In the weeks after I had my first son, Jacob, in 1999 I knew I’d be a birth activist. I had a powerful birth experience at home with three midwives and my husband surrounding me as I gave birth to my son. But as the weeks unfolded after the birth so did my emotions and extreme challenges of breastfeeding a baby that would not latch on. What I experienced throughout my pregnancy, and especially in those intense weeks after the birth of Jacob, was a model of care where I was always put at the center. I felt like a royal diva getting calls and visits from my midwives every day to see how I was doing. I knew right then that this was the type of care I wanted every woman to have. And I knew from my many visits to the playground with my children after that most mothers not only weren’t getting this type of care – they didn’t know it exists! I wrote my play Birth and founded BOLD because I thought it was important to use the arts to tell the truth about childbirth in America. There were many statistics available about women and childbirth, but not stories. Storytelling is so powerful, nonthreatening, and rich with meaning.  My intention has always been to allow the telling of mothers birth stories help women who have had traumatic births heal from their experiences and as a society to move on to a model of care during childbirth that fully supports women – that believes birth is normal and women’s bodies rock when it comes to giving birth. Today BOLD Organizers all around the world perform my play to raise awareness and money for mother-friendly childbirth and they gather women under BOLD Red Tents to tell their birth stories. I’m in awe of the communities who have been a part of BOLD and can’t wait to meet more BOLD women and men who feel the time is right to create childbirth choices that work for women. www.boldaction.org