Climate Crisis and Maternity Care

Last week I was able to attend the Green Maternity Conference at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Since almost about a year ago, I've been part of the Lived Experience Team that has been supporting the design and implementation of the Green Maternity Challenge Initiative.

It felt hopeful and refreshing to hear from Dr. Ranee Thakar, the president of the RCOG, and all of her team at the RCOG, a true commitment to use their stand to protect health, improve healthcare outcomes, and overall put climate action and equitable care at the forefront of their work.

Why did I decide to join this LET? Where to begin? The basics, I care about our global climate crisis. I have been an activist all my adult life and have worked in the environmental sector before deciding on self-exile from the never-ending violence in my home country. In Mexico, as well as in most countries with a gradient of degrees of severity, social justice and climate justice activists are intimidated to say the least and in some very sad cases disappeared or killed. My hands still shake when I talk (or write about this). As a migrant woman, I know how the pressures on the resources of our territories drive movement and migration, such as my own migrant journey. I am aware that climate change will drive more movement because extractivism is a package that comes with an overarching fog that fills places with violence, barriers to basic care, environmental destruction, polluting or denying access to our water, changing our (sometimes sacred) landscapes, making us sick, desperate, and with no other choice but to organize and resist. These are the reasons I will always try to squeeze myself into any initiative that may make a difference. I truly believe the effort needs to come from every possible corner of the world and specialism. It makes me very hopeful that although the maternity healthcare sector has many challenges, they are taking positive steps to make their own practice one that is sustainable, reducing carbon footprint and overall putting equitable maternity services as an essential, unavoidable issue.

Most doulas consider ourselves keepers of life, and that beautifully expands to our beautiful planet.

Multi-territorial, multi-disciplinary, and multi-diverse voices are not only necessary, they are essential to drive hope and change.