Hello, friend!
For those of you reading this via email, you probably haven’t noticed much of a change. But for those who have followed us on Substack over the past year and a half, you’ll know we’ve made some significant shifts.
Over the last 12 months, the direction and ethos of Substack as a platform haven’t aligned with the vision of Postpartum Matters. As individuals, I believe we have a responsibility to understand where our money goes and which companies we engage with. It’s a nuanced topic, touching on issues of price, class, disability, and more— but, where possible, I feel it’s our duty to make conscious choices about where we place our money and energy.
For me personally, this has meant moving my bank account from NatWest, a bank notorious for investing in fracking and fossil fuels, to a building society that aligns with my environmental values. I’ve also been making an effort to reduce my reliance on Amazon—though, let’s be honest, that’s a tough one!
As an organisation, these choices become even more complex. Over the past year, Substack evolved from a simple newsletter platform to what I see now as an alternative social media space — something I don’t know we need any more of! Their stance on freedom of speech, which has allowed and even profited from white supremacist and neo-Nazi content, made it clear that this wasn’t a platform I wanted to support. Their recent celebration of Elon Musk was the final straw.
Substack charged a 10% fee on all profits, meaning I was paying them to use a space that didn’t align with my values. Moving away from them has felt like reclaiming my power there. We now host our newsletter on Buttondown, a platform that better aligns with our mission.
So, why am I still a member of Doula UK?
This has been a more challenging decision. For those deeply involved in the birth world, you might be aware of the controversies surrounding Doula UK. Historically, the organisation was dominated by white, cisgender women, which created barriers for Black, Brown, and working-class women — financially and otherwise.
Doula UK requires members to complete certified training and mentoring, which is costly and can be exclusionary. Coming from a white working-class background, I’m acutely aware of how these financial barriers affect access to birthwork. Yet, Doula UK remains the largest doula directory in the UK, and it’s one of the primary ways clients find me.
The most recent controversy has been around Doula UK’s silence around the mothers & baby’s currently suffering in Palestine. This is in stark contrast to their response when Russia invaded Ukraine, where they were vocal in their support for Ukrainian mothers and birthing people. With this in mind, their lack of support for Palestine is deeply problematic (Please do see this link to UNFPA, an organisation supporting pregnant women and babies in Palestine—for those who wish to contribute).
The calls to boycott Doula UK are valid, and I respect those who choose that path. I’ve thought long and hard about whether to leave. But when I consider the holistic picture — the organisations we use, where our clients find us - the reality is that nearly all of my doula clients come from either Instagram or Doula UK. Given Instagram’s own issues, Doula UK feels like the lesser of two evils.
That said, I’m committed to continuing the work of decolonising birth work in my area as well as aligning our platforms with our overall ethos. This includes seeking funding to support doula training for marginalised communities and exploring new platforms to reduce our reliance on Instagram and Facebook. We’ll also be moving our website to improve visibility and reduce our dependence on social media for marketing.
Let’s keep the conversation going
I’d love to hear how you’re navigating these complex choices. Have you made any changes in where you spend your money or the platforms you use? It can feel overwhelming when you start peeling back the layers and seeing the issues tied to so many of the products and services we use. But I do believe we have an obligation to minimise our impact where we can.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts. You can still comment as usual or simply hit reply to this email.
With love and solidarity,
I'm definitely trying to move away from Amazon and similarly big and horrible companies. It'll be a process to find things elsewhere, but I'm also really interested in trying to buy more lasting products and make fewer purchases long-term, which means being more careful about my spending overall.
I've also been using social media much less. I haven't been able to fully let go, but I am working to focus my energy and attention elsewhere, (like slow reading, and working with my hands, and making plans to see my friends in person) and I've noticed a big difference.
It can be really difficult for me to make big changes, but I also struggle with my justice sensitivity and wanting to do the right thing as much as possible, so finding a balance there is tricky but necessary, and I'm trying to make little adjustments and focus on one thing at a time.
Yes, we’re in a similar space with it all. Just generally trying to buy less - I’ve found this okay in general but really hard around their birthdays and Christmas when it comes to other family members and their buying habits.
The social media thing has been really scaring me the last couple months. I think that’s a big driver in my current decisions - I want to create spaces where I feel able to leave it altogether, ideally.