Before I got pregnant I was like a lot of the population... You see the births and pregnancies on TV and movies, how quickly the baby pops out, the Mum is fine, everyone goes home, the routine check ups, ultrasounds with heartbeats and the woman screaming out for an epidural (just to name a few). However it is so much deeper than that. There's birth plans, informed consent (or lack of), different birthing options, Doctors who may not have your best interests at heart, co-ercion, fear mongering, unnecessary intervention (like this article on the dangers of ultrasound), early induction, inadequate training, lack of funding, lack of support for the new mother and overall a dim, dark and corrupt system. Birth is one of the most natural things on the planet, alongside the deed in making a baby and of course death. So why is it treated like some disease? Women have been birthing babies forever and it was normal, natural and just something that happened. Now it's all "get this test done, that test, you can't go past your due date, c-section is needed, we don't do breech deliveries". It has become an over-medicalised and quite frankly in my opinion dangerous environment for women to be in. My pregnancy was so tough. I had white coat syndrome already and a real lack of trust in the system due to past experiences. So if you throw those two things on, plus my vulnerability you could say it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I loved pregnancy itself, growing a human inside me, getting to feel little kicks, aches and pains... But as soon as it came down to going to appointments, getting tests and hospitals I hated it. I dreaded going to appointments. In fact for a majority of my pregnancy I didn't go to appointments anywhere near as often as your average lady would... But still it was too much for me. It goes from monthly, to weekly, to a few times a week as the due date nears. It goes from small amounts of pressure, to a sudden HUGE amount of pressure. It goes from uncomfortable to "GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE".
My Doctors did not support me and I was not treated how I now realise I deserved to be treated at the time. I was never given informed consent, I was never spoken to about my options, I was almost forced into diet plans (you can read my post on that here), was told I was too big, co-erced into extremely uncomfortable situations, and just went against my intuition, which I know is always spot on. I know I am not alone in feeling this way. I know that there are so many out there wanting to tell their story. I know that these women should not be silenced, should not have their trauma invalidated and should have a platform to speak their truth. Every single day I am seeing more stories about totally fucked up things happening to women, when they are at their most vulnerable and I am sick. To. Death. Of. It. Friends, sisters, daughters, mothers and grandmothers should NOT have had to go through this, or to be potentially faced with this in the future. Change has to happen if we want healthy babies AND HEALTHY MAMAS. This is why I speak about my birth trauma. This is why despite of uncomfortable certain things make me feel I still speak my truth. This is why I won't sit there and let the medical system justify their absolutely horrendous treatment of women. This is why I did not let my Doctors talk to me after I wrote my letters of complaint, I chose to hold the power this time. This is why I take the sides of women, why I spend my spare time researching, reading medical papers and studies, reading inserts for medication and vaccines, why I listen to my gut, connect with my womb and honour my body... Because the medical system won't give me these things, they won't educate me and they won't support me. I will give these gifts to myself and to others around me who deserve and need love, support and care. Especially when it comes to their birth experiences, listening to their stories, guiding them through their trauma, letting them know that they have every right to feel the way that they do, to educate them, show them the evidence based studies and to inspire them to not tolerate anyone's bullshit, especially their Doctors. The maternity industry needs to change, and there are strong as fuck women out there ready to push for that to happen.
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A Mum on a mission to raise an Earth Warrior.
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