Jennifer Dunatov is a healthcare ethicist and birth justice advocate dedicated to exposing the ethical failures embedded within America’s maternal healthcare system. In this powerful episode of The Pain Gap, Jennifer joins Anushay Hossain for an unflinching conversation about birth trauma, informed consent, obstetric violence, and why childbirth remains one of the clearest reflections of systemic injustice in healthcare. Together, they unpack how racism, coercion, fear-based medicine, and the dismissal of women’s pain continue to shape birth experiences across the country, even at the most prestigious hospitals.
Jennifer also explains the often misunderstood role of healthcare ethicists, revealing how ethics consults can help protect patient autonomy and slow down harmful, high-pressure decision-making in delivery rooms. The conversation explores emergency C-sections, medical paternalism, the emotional aftermath of traumatic births, and why so many women are left carrying invisible wounds long after childbirth.
This episode is a raw, validating, and urgently necessary discussion about dignity, autonomy, and the fight to make maternal healthcare more ethical, humane, and just for every woman.
Episode Resources:
@jenniferdunatov (Instagram)
@dr.jenniferdunatov (TikTok)
www.jenniferdunatov.com (website)
To learn more about Anushay Hossain's work, check out Anushay's website or sign up for her substack. To continue the conversation, feel free to DM @anushayhossain or email me at thepaingap@gmail.com
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