Episode 131: Social Media and Birth Work: Interview with Heidi Mills

Finding Your Village

Thank you so much for listening. Today I am talking to Heidi Mills about what we have been noticing on social media in the birth world. There is a lot of division between doulas and OBGYNs and/or clinicians and non-clinicians over spreading misinformation on social media. Heidi and talk about what we have noticed and how it can impact pregnant people.

Heidi Mills is a Certified Birth Doula, owner of Bloc Births LLC, and content creator at the handle "whatadoulado". As a hospital-based doula, she has had the opportunity to support a wide range of births, from unmedicated deliveries to planned c-sections. Heidi is passionate about expanding doula care to be accessible to all birth experiences, so every family can have the support they need during this pivotal experience.
In this episode, we discuss the growing division between the more holistic, natural-focused world of doulas and alternative practitioners and the more medically-centered care providers. The episode emphasizes the importance of collaboration between medical professionals and doulas to lead to the best possible outcomes for parents and their babies.

We discussed:

• The growing division between the holistic and medical approach to pregnancy and birth
• The role of social media in perpetuating this division
• The importance of vetting sources on social media and seeking balanced and collaborative care
• Avoiding divisive language and focusing on helping pregnant individuals
• Being mindful of raw emotions when creating content for social media and taking a step back to process them properly
• Understanding the intentions of content creators on social media and using the "not interested" button or blocking them if necessary
• The role of doulas in providing physical, emotional, and informational support during childbirth and the importance of never making absolute statements
• The need to focus on building skills to provide better support to pregnant individuals.

How to follow Heidi:

• TikTok
• Instagram

How to get in touch with me:

• Take the 4 Day Birth Class
• Get the Postpartum Online Class!
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast

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