We Have to Call Out The Wrongs That We See In The System
Women's Health Expert Kristina Chamberlain Addresses the Vital Need to Listen to Women in the Name of Public Health
(Photo: Kristina Chamberlain working in clinic.)
“I have two daughters, ages 14 and 16. At a very young age, I empowered them to ask the doctor any questions they had at their checkups. They know they have to give consent for anyone to touch them. I teach them to listen to their body and give it what it needs. I’ve also told them to consider how a state respects the rights of women before they choose to live there. I think this should be considered when looking at a college or job. Young women everywhere should be asking: Where will I live and what are my rights there?”
- Kristina Chamberlain
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade—the 1973 landmark case protecting the right to abortion—is an assault on women’s rights, human rights, and democracy that will have a damaging impact around the world. It’s also an insult to ethical medical professionals who believe in The Patient’s right to body sovereignty, autonomy and self determination in the context of medical access and medical care.
Women are being turned away at intake. Physicians and health system administrators are unclear on criminal ramifications, medical records privacy ramifications, and risk.
This Supreme Court decision reverses nearly 50 years of precedent in the United States, explicitly ending federal Constitutional protections for abortion, diminishing the rights of women, and threatening their access to reproductive care.
Women are being harmed, and dying, as a result of this ruling. Ethical medical professionals are beyond distressed as harm is being imposed on patients nationwide.
I, like all of the women I know, turned immediately to friends, healthcare experts and legal professionals in my own international network for knowledge, weigh-in and hope. One of those dedicated women is Kristina Chamberlain.
I first met Kristina about 28 years ago at The Second City in Chicago. Kristina was working at the theatre in 1994 when my roommate was a performer in the company. We met and became close friends through that artistic performance community. She has dedicated her professional career to women’s health, health literacy and women’s safety since.
With the significant barriers to healthcare access that already exist in the United States and internationally, this decision is a canary in the mine for the current court’s majority intent to restrict access to medical care further. The ruling has deepened the body politic crevasse across a United States electorate that is torn between those who trust in science, and those who believe in religious doctrines.
Roe v. Wade inspired movements and laws in countries such as Tunisia and Cape Verde, and activists across the globe have expressed alarm at the prospect of other countries emulating the United States Supreme Court’s decision. This ruling signals a return to U.S. obstructionism on sexual and reproductive health and human rights globally.
Kristina is a certified nurse-midwife, women’s health nurse practitioner, and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She graduated from the midwifery and women’s health program at the University of Washington and has worked with women and their families for over ten years in a variety of roles. Currently, she is in private practice in the Seattle area, specializing in gynecology and lactation services. Kristina has written for a variety of health publications.
Her first book is titled “I Can Breastfeed.”
I began our conversation by asking Kristina about her current work and role in Women’s Health.
Soenen: What is your current professional role?
Kristina Chamberlain: I am licensed as a Certified Nurse-Midwife and Women's Nurse Practitioner. I am certified as an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. My primary role is as the Clinical Director and Lead Faculty for the University of California San Diego Lactation Program in the United States. Clinically, I see lactation clients through Telehealth visits.
Soenen: How do you define health for you, your family, your colleagues, your patients?
Chamberlain: I think for me, family, colleagues, and patients, I define health the same way. I aim to feel good so that I can enjoy my life and have the energy to do the things I want to do.
Soenen: What made you interested in getting into women’s healthcare professionally?
Chamberlain: I realized I was a feminist at a very young age and healthcare seemed the best way for me to do good feminist work. I started volunteering at a women's health clinic at age 19. I decided to make it my career about ten years later.
Soenen: Where, when and how did you begin that career path?
Chamberlain: I started as a volunteer. It was never something I thought I'd actually do as a career. My day job was working as a theater producer. I loved working in theater, however, I was starting to get disillusioned with the business and felt more passionate about my volunteer work. Slowly, in my late 20's I felt like I wanted a job that I feel made more of an impact in the world. I looked into going back to school to turn my "hobby" of women's health into an actual career. I went back to school at age 27, first nursing school, then midwifery school. It took me seven years to get it all done, but it was well worth it!
Soenen: You have a beautiful family. What do you tell your children about healthcare and lifelong health maintenance?
Chamberlain: Yes, I have two daughters, ages 14 and 16. At a very young age, I empowered them to ask the doctor any questions they had at their checkups. They know they have to give consent for anyone to touch them. I teach them to listen to their body and give it what it needs. I’ve also told them to consider how a state respects the rights of women before they choose to live there. I think this should be considered when looking at a college or job. Young women everywhere should be asking: Where will I live and what are my rights there?
Soenen: If you were speaking to your 20-year-old self, what would you have told her with regard to healthcare and health maintenance back then?
Chamberlain: I would have told her to stop eating so much white sugar!
“I see my daughters and their age group so much more confident in what is right and wrong. They have the vocabulary to speak up when they see injustice. I'm hopeful that their generation will be able to fix some of the problems we have left to them.”
-Kristina Chamberlain
Soenen: In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling restricting medical care for women, what is your perspective? What impact will this have on women?
Chamberlain: The ruling will have great ramifications for women’s health. It won’t stop at abortion. It puts women’s health in danger when there is a miscarriage. It also leaves room for bias to determine who gets what healthcare. Already, health decisions are made at “faith-based” hospitals that are based on religious doctrine, rather than evidence-based healthcare. Poor women and women of color will suffer the most. Providers will be afraid to make decisions that could put them in legal trouble.
Soenen: Have you witnessed changes in women’s healthcare over the last 25 years? The good, the bad, the ugly? What has your experience been?
Chamberlain: The overturn of Roe v. Wade is beyond bad. Abortion is healthcare and limiting access to abortion care is limiting access to healthcare. It is allowing politicians and religious leaders to make healthcare decisions for women and those with a uterus.