The Truth About Modern Birth - SOLD OUT

What’s the safest way to give birth-and who gets to decide?

Conversations about childbirth often center on risk, safety, and medical technology. While interventions have saved lives, they’ve also reshaped birth-and how we understand it. In this lecture, medical and cultural sociologist Meghan Warner of Stanford explores the history of childbirth in the U.S., from the marginalization of midwives to the rise of hospital births and “natural birth” movements, asking what we really mean when we talk about “risk.”

Drawing on her research with pregnant people and healthcare providers, Meghan examines how individual birth preferences are shaped by cultural narratives, clinical norms, and broader social forces-offering a deeper lens on choice, agency, and power in childbirth.