Summary

In this conversation, Dawn Thompson and Nicole Harlot engage with Rixa Freeze, a prominent advocate for twin and breech birth. They discuss the alarming rise in cesarean rates for twin births, the importance of informed consent, and the need for better training among healthcare providers. Rixa shares her journey into birth research, the findings from her twin home birth study, and the systemic changes needed to support vaginal births for twins. The discussion emphasizes the empowerment of women in making informed choices about their birth experiences and the necessity for healthcare providers to be adequately trained in breech and twin deliveries.

Dr. Rixa Freeze has a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. Her doctoral studies focused on the history of healthcare and medicine with specialization in pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity care. Her dissertation examined why women in North America choose unassisted home births. She worked as a visiting assistant professor for 9 years at Wabash College before founding Breech Without Borders in 2018. BWB is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to breech training, education, and advocacy.

She has published about why women choose home birth (JMWH 2009) and attitudes towards home birth in the US (Exp Rev ObGyn 2010). In 2018, she co-authored a study of breech and cephalic home births (BMC Preg Child). The following year, she published an article about outcomes of breech at home, birth centers, and hospitals (Midwifery Today). She co-authored a chapter “Freebirth in the United States” in the 2020 book Birthing Outside the System: The Canary in the Coal Mine. She is the co-author of the textbook A Guide to Physiological Breech Birth, now in its 2nd edition. Her analysis of 100 sets of twin home births, co-authored with Stuart Fischbein, was published in December 2024 with PLOS ONE.

Current research projects include a video analysis of 200 physiological breech births, a qualitative analysis of the obstacles American physicians face in supporting vaginal breech birth, and a review of the effectiveness of an international vaginal breech training program. She also oversees DNP and bachelor of midwifery research projects relating to breech birth.

https://www.facebook.com/breechwithoutbordershttps://www.instagram.com/breechwithoutborders/rixarixa.blogspot.com

** Correction From Rixa: I was speaking about "mono-mono" twins but accidentally said "mono-di" at a few points between about 18:00-20:00. I did correct myself at the end of that segment but wanted to clarify that in that part, I was meaning "mono-mono"! **