Birthing stories: collective narrative and everyday activism

Birth stories are a useful tool for research and activism. They are also a cultural product, shaped and constrained through societal norms and expectations.Birth stories circulating through broadcast media and private conversation are abridged in a way that both reflects and perpetuates social understanding of labour and childbirth. Typically, birth stories follow an uplifting narrative, showcasing the effort or prowess of clinicians, obfuscating systematic failures and preventing collective action for change. IDrawing on over 80 birth stories, we argue it is crucial to support candid story-sharing amongst those who have given birth; listening to birth stories is an act that can be itself caring and/or generative of acts of care. Story sharing creates spaces for emotional and practical care giving and receiving. Storieshold power to create emotional connections leading to everyday activism through relationships of care and acts of care. Unabridged birth stories provide space for: (1) the reality/ies of childbirth to be voiced and explored; (2) the diversity of birth to be recognized and valued; (3) collective redrafting of birth stories to reframe experiences; (4) recognition of, and collective action addressing, systemic failures.