Author: ruth

Why don’t we treat menopause the way we treat birth?

I have spent most of my career working with birthing people. I will declare at the outset that I am interested in a critical, holistic, lifespan approach to reproductive and sexual health, rather than a biologically deterministic view. Just as the transition into birthing can be fraught, biologically and socially (when the birth plan gets […]

Birthing, M/othering

March is an exciting month for me with events and exhibitions about M/others and birthing, starting with a panel at M/Other at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. “Last year, more than 300,000 children were born in Australia, yet systems in place for childbirth remain opaque and often discriminatory. For M/OTHER, the Wheeler Centre brings together […]

Teaching into a headwind and Nursing a Radical Imagination

So, this incredible book Nursing a Radical Imagination: Moving from Theory and History to Action and Alternate Futures, Edited by Jess Dillard-Wright, Jane Hopkins-Walsh, Brandon Brown has been published, and what a thrill to have a chapter in it! The book is described as “Examining the historical context of healthcare whilst focusing on building a […]

The Nurses’ and Midwives’ art exchange

It has been a privilege to be a part of the team who created The Nurses’ and Midwives’ art exchange, at the RMIT Design Hub Gallery as part of the Big Anxiety Naarm/Melbourne. The exhibition highlights creative responses and stories from nurses and midwives who worked through the pandemic in Australia and the US. We […]

NEW MOTHERS AND APPS DURING COVID-19

Sukhmani Khorana, Bhavya Chitranshi and I recently completed research about the experiences of six cisgender South Asian-Australian women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. A note about language in this report: The South Asian “women” in our study identified as cisgender. However, we have used a gender-additive approach to language to be respectful and […]

Book review: This Bridge called my back

I have been a long-time fan of the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation. Starting in 1996 I did some workshops in Northland and around for the community about Depression, while I worked in perinatal mental health. Later, I co-produced a brochure about perinatal mental health for them. So, when the fabulous Kim Higginson asked me […]

Lessons on exclusion from past pandemics

I wrote a piece for the Summer 2021/22 edition (Issue 36) of the Hive (the Australian College of Nursing’s quarterly publication). Cite as: De Souza, R. (2021). Lessons on exclusion from past pandemics. The Hive, 36, 16–17. You can also download a pdf of the article for your own personal use. I have three pandemic […]