13 episodes
Uncared For Lemonada
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- Health & Fitness
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4.2 • 84 Ratings
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You’re more likely to die as a pregnant person in the United States than any other wealthy nation in the world. Why? This six-part series, hosted by award-winning journalist SuChin Pak (Add to Cart, MTV News), takes a deeply personal and wide-ranging look at maternal health care around the globe to find the answer. We start in the United States then travel to Germany, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica to see what works and what desperately needs to change. From Lemonada Media and The Commonwealth Fund.
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America the Outlier
The maternal mortality rate in the United States is more than double that of our peers – and it’s especially high among Black birthing people. In the first episode of Uncared For, we’ll hear from health equity researchers, birth providers – like the postpartum doula who was there for SuChin – and Black mothers who have been dismissed and misdiagnosed in our broken system of care. How did our system end up like this? And what does this crisis tell us about how our healthcare system stacks up globally?
Learn more about Brandi Jordan’s doula work on The Cradle Company’s website: https://www.thecradlecompany.com/about-us/.
Listen to Brandi’s podcast, Dear Doula, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dear-doula/id1586752064.
Looking for a birth or postpartum doula? Check out these resources:
https://doulamatch.net/search
https://www.dona.org/what-is-a-doula/find-a-doula/
Want to read more about Dr. Rachel Hardeman’s research? Check out the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity: https://carhe.umn.edu/.
Read about the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative that Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell leads: https://ldh.la.gov/page/3737
Learn more about Dr. Whitney Polk here: https://whitneypolk.com/.
Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system. Learn more at CommonwealthFund.org.
SuChin Pak is our host. Muna Danish is our supervising producer. Giulia Hjort is our producer and Rachel Lightner is our producer and audio engineer. Isaura Aceves is our associate producer. Mix help from Kristin Mueller. Music is by Andrea Kristinsdottir. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Fact-checking by Naomi Barr. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Follow SuChin on Twitter and Instagram at @suchinpak. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.
Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Who Gets A Choice?
Is abortion care healthcare? In the United States, the answer to that question depends entirely on your ZIP code. In this episode, we’ll hear from two women, one in Texas and the other in New York, both working against the clock to access an abortion. How do abortion restrictions impact pregnant people’s healthcare? What does it mean to be treated with dignity and compassion? And what is at stake for pregnant people and medical providers in this country?
Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system. Learn more at CommonwealthFund.org.
SuChin Pak is our host. Muna Danish is our supervising producer. Giulia Hjort is our producer and Rachel Lightner is our producer and audio engineer. Isaura Aceves is our associate producer. Mix help from Kristin Mueller. Music is by Andrea Kristinsdottir. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Fact-checking by Naomi Barr. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Follow SuChin on Twitter and Instagram at @suchinpak. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
Learn more about maternal mortality review committees in your state here: https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/maternal-mortality-review-committees.
Learn more about Kathy Kleinfeld’s clinic, the Houston Women’s Reproductive Services, here: https://houstonwomensreproductiveservices.com/.
Looking for abortion care? Search state-by-state information using the links below:
https://www.abortionfinder.org/
https://prochoice.org/patients/find-a-provider/
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/abortion-access
Want more information on safe, at-home abortion pills? Visit: https://www.plancpills.org/.
You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.
Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Germany: Where Parents Feel Supported
On our first stop in the “healthcare world tour,” we travel to Germany, where midwives are a legal right, childcare is subsidized, and parents are reimbursed for childcare costs. We’ll shadow a midwife on a home visit to newborn twins and their parents, and meet an American mom who left the U.S. to reap the German benefits. But is it too good to be true? We’ll learn what challenges midwives are up against, like a labor shortage that could upend the care they’re able to provide.
Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system. Learn more at CommonwealthFund.org.
SuChin Pak is our host. Muna Danish is our supervising producer. Giulia Hjort is our producer and Rachel Lightner is our producer and audio engineer. Isaura Aceves is our associate producer. Mix help from Kristin Mueller. Music is by Andrea Kristinsdottir. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Fact-checking by Naomi Barr. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Follow SuChin on Twitter and Instagram at @suchinpak. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.
Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.
A previous version of this story stated that Caitlin’s son died after a few days at home. The episode has been edited to reflect the fact that he passed away immediately after birth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
The Netherlands: Fairy Godmothers of Postpartum Care
This week, we travel east to the Netherlands. Here, midwives and “kraamzorgs,” or postnatal maternity aides, help parents during every step of the pregnancy journey. We’ll meet expecting parents trying out a new type of group-based care, hear from an American journalist about the the hands-on postpartum support she received in her own home, and meet a midwife prioritizing maternal care for undocumented immigrants.
Learn more about the Amstermam midwifery practice: https://amstermam.nl/over-ons/
Learn more about the Bijlmermeer Birth Center: https://verloskundigenpraktijkbijlmermeer.nl/en/
Interested in the history of the Bijlmermeer neighborhood? Listen to an episode of 99% Invisible that’s all about it: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/bijlmer-city-future-part-1/
Look into centering care in the US: https://centeringhealthcare.org/what-we-do/centering-pregnancy
Read more of Dr. Ank de Jonge’s research: https://research.vumc.nl/en/persons/ank-de-jonge
Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system. Learn more at CommonwealthFund.org.
SuChin Pak is our host. Muna Danish is our supervising producer. Giulia Hjort is our producer and Rachel Lightner is our producer and audio engineer. Isaura Aceves is our associate producer. Mix help from Kristin Mueller. Music is by Andrea Kristinsdottir. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Fact-checking by Naomi Barr. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Follow SuChin on Twitter and Instagram at @suchinpak. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.
Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Costa Rica: By Boat, By Horse, By Bicycle
This week, we head to Costa Rica, the final destination on our maternal health “world tour,” where we explore the country’s unique community-based model of care. We’ll travel into the mountains with a community health worker to check up on a pregnant woman, and then head to the western coast, where we meet a doctor providing care to a small fishing village. Along the way, we’ll learn how the country’s healthcare reforms helped to expand access to rural areas and overcome high rates of child and maternal mortality.
Learn more about Costa Rica’s healthcare model here:
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/case-study/2021/mar/community-oriented-primary-care-lessons-costa-rica
https://www.ariadnelabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/CostaRica-Report-12-19-2017.pdf
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/30/costa-ricans-live-longer-than-we-do-whats-the-secret
Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system. Learn more at CommonwealthFund.org.
SuChin Pak is our host. Muna Danish is our supervising producer. Giulia Hjort is our producer and Rachel Lightner is our producer and audio engineer. Isaura Aceves is our associate producer. Mix help from Kristin Mueller. Music is by Andrea Kristinsdottir. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Fact-checking by Naomi Barr. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Follow SuChin on Twitter and Instagram at @suchinpak. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.
Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Reimagining Birth
In our last episode, we return stateside to see how the Minneapolis-based Roots Community Birth Center is reimagining maternal care by prioritizing strong relationships and culturally centered care. We also learn about how midwives were once the go-to providers in American maternal care, but eventually became obsolete when doctors entered the picture. So what can we do to bring them back? And what would it take to open up a Roots in every state? Learn more about the Roots Community Birth Center here: https://www.rootsbirthcenter.com/
Read about the Commonwealth Fund’s research on community-based maternal care models here: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2021/mar/community-models-improve-maternal-outcomes-equity
Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system. Learn more at CommonwealthFund.org.
SuChin Pak is our host. Muna Danish is our supervising producer. Giulia Hjort is our producer and Rachel Lightner is our producer and audio engineer. Isaura Aceves is our associate producer. Mix help from Kristin Mueller. Music is by Andrea Kristinsdottir. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Our story consultant is Kaya Henderson. Fact-checking by Naomi Barr. Executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Follow SuChin on Twitter and Instagram at @suchinpak. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.
You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.
Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Customer Reviews
Well produced but I wish it would go more in depth.
I’m going through these but I feel like right where it starts to make new ground it stops. Why is care “racist”? What are providers being taught during “anti-racism/equitable care training”? Is it effective? What healing and complications take place during the first two weeks that is not being monitored? What happens when mom is sick near hospital discharge but baby is fine and vice versa? Why is abortion care so critical to family planning clinics in low income neighborhoods - to the point where they would shut down if they can’t provide that service? What actually does cause abortion rates to go down?
I am excited that the podcast is highlighting a country like Germany where there is both private and public health. I didn’t understand how much different healthcare could be until I lived in New Zealand which also has public and private healthcare, and a really strong midwifery presence.
I just think if you’re going to deepen people’s understanding then you need to delve even more into these types of issues. As a person who is white and felt unheard, unsupported, and almost had something missed on the way out the hospital door the stories you picked had me clenching the armrests in my car just feeling absolutely horrified for some of the women in these stories.
I wanted to like it, but the journalism was biased
There is good content in this podcast analyzing other healthcare systems with better outcomes than the US healthcare system. The problem is the advocacy against “interventions,” when c sections and blood transfusions may be needed to save lives. There isn’t a focus on nuance and information, which is necessary for the creation of high quality medical journalism. And yes, NEVER using the word “women” and only using the term “birthing person” is quite jarring. Both terms can be used, neither is incorrect. This ignores the fact that women are medically discriminated against, and removes the ability to analyze healthcare truthfully.
“Birthing people” = unsubscribe
Discusses important topics but everything is racist and we can no longer be called mothers. I’m a white woman and received terrible care my first pregnancy when I didn’t know how to advocate for myself. It wasn’t racism then was it, and yet the problem still exists. So these topics are important but you’ve lost all credibility. Women give birth. If someone wants to be called something other than his or her biological sex that’s fine but because of them now we’re all “birthing people?” Like absolutely no one wants to be called that. Total idiocy