I Gave Birth Alone in the Pandemic
I Gave Birth Alone in the Pandemic
My story of forced separation during childbirth in the COVID-19 pandemic
Bonus Episode
Podcast host Samantha Stephenson shares her son's birth story, how and why hospital staff refused her husband access and separated mother and baby at birth despite lacking any evidence of illness.
Announcing Season 2!
Coming June 13. Season 2: Creating Life
Season 2 covers everything in the world of reproductive technologies, from IVF and NFP to surrogacy, embryonic research, artificial wombs, and prenatal testing. There are some amazing guests lined up and I can’t wait to share their work and perspectives on these topics.
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Transcript
Samantha: Like many other women in 2020, I gave birth at the height of the pandemic. And like many other Americans, I was forced to go through a serious medical procedure with no social support at my bedside.
The irony of my story is the lengths that I went to prevent this from happening. I saw this coming and did everything I could think of to ensure the outcome I wanted: my husband present at the birth of our son, not to be separated from my baby. And, in a series of my best efforts gone wrong, that is the outcome we didn’t get. This is the story of that birth, of the ironies along the way, and of how, in the end, I found meaning in living through one of my worst fears come to pass.
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