Labora Collective Streams

OB. Pregnancy. Birth. Postpartum.

Reporting and clinical work on pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum and perinatal care — drawn from across Labora Collective.

30 pieces · 4 sources
Recent Work
On Substack · Article

Maternal Mortality & Healthcare Infrastructure

A recording from Dr. Yamicia Connor and Walter Rhein's live video

On Substack · Article

The Midwife Purge

The Long War - Essay 2

On Substack · Article

The team was there today. That is not a guarantee.

Week 6 closes. A fourth cesarean. A spinal that failed. The team that was there to catch it.

On Substack · Article

The Program Holding Up the Whole Floor

The Signal - Four in ten U.S. births. The rural hospitals that deliver them. The doctors who staff them. All of it.

On Substack · Article

The Bloomberg of Maternal Health: Why Independent Health Journalism Is Infrastructure

The AI Reckoning · Part 5 of 7

On Substack · Article

The Accountability Gap: Why Most Maternal Deaths Are Not Medical Mysteries

The AI Reckoning · Part 4 of 7

On Substack · Article

What It Means to Be Believed—Pain, Pregnancy, and the Politics of Care

Installment 7 of Labora Collective's Painful Bladder Syndrome Series - A Journey to Validation and Relief.

On Substack · Article

Preparing for Labor and Delivery When You Have Bladder Pain

Installment 5 of Labora Collective's Painful Bladder Syndrome Series - A Journey to Validation and Relief.

On Substack · Article

What Happens After Birth—The Path to Long-Term Treatment

Installment 6 of Labora Collective's Painful Bladder Syndrome Series - A Journey to Validation and Relief.

On Substack · Article

Welcome to Doula's Corner

Your field guide at the bedside

On Substack · Article

Welcome to the Birthworker Brief

For doulas, midwives, nurses, and birth workers navigating the chaos of post-Dobbs reproductive healthcare.

On Substack · Article

What Painful Bladder Syndrome Actually Is—and Why Pregnancy Makes It Worse

Installment 2 of Labora Collective's Painful Bladder Syndrome Series - A Journey to Validation and Relief.

On Substack · Article

Chapter 4: Patients as "Tribes"

Exploring the Impact of Racial and Socioeconomic Classifications on Patient Care in Labor and Delivery Units

On Substack · Article

"Unnecessary Losses: How Many Black Women Must Die for Maternal Health Reforms?"

On Substack · Article

A Hard Labor: How Diosa Ara is Challenging Racial Disparities in Maternal Care

On Substack · Article

Birth Control in Uncertain Times: Why You Shouldn’t Wait Another Day

On Substack · Article

Postpartum Belly Binding: Tradition or Science?

On Substack · Article

How to Choose the Right OB-GYN, Midwife, or Doula for Your Journey

On Substack · Article

Is Your Doctor Ignoring Your Pregnancy Concerns? Here’s How to Get the Care You Deserve

On Substack · Article

Navigating Pregnancy as a Black or Brown Woman: What They Don’t Tell You

On Substack · Article

The Reality of Giving Birth in a Crisis—What You Need to Know

On Substack · Article

Pregnant & Over 30? These 10 Tests Help Keep You & Your Baby Healthy

On Substack · Article

What If You Need Emergency Pregnancy Care—But Can’t Get It?

On Substack · Article

Every Pregnant Woman Should Have a Home Blood Pressure Cuff—Here’s Why It Could Save Your Life

On Substack · Article

🚨 Diabetes in Pregnancy: What You NEED to Know to Reduce Your C-Section Risk

On Substack · Article

Maternal Health Awareness Day: Let's Address America’s Maternal Mortality Crisis

On theeconomicbody · Signal

Housing Crisis

Housing instability as a maternal-health input

On theeconomicbody · Briefing

Housing Crisis — The Cortisol Pipeline

Rent burden, eviction filings, and the prenatal-care interruption

On quietdismantling · Signal

No One Signed the Death Certificate

PRAMS — the only federal source for state-level maternal health data — has effectively stopped existing. No bill. No vote. Congress kept the money. The administration killed the program.

Labora Collective · Article

PRAMS Funding Expires in April. Here’s What We Lose. — Women's Health

The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System has tracked maternal health data since 1987. Federal funding expires April 2026. Here’s what’s at stake.

Cards link to the original — every piece is published either on The Labora Collective Substack or one of our Labora Collective sites. Older work is in the Substack archive.