Women birthing in the United States have seemingly lost a lot of freedoms to do so how they choose, as have women all over.
We enjoy certain freedoms here (United States centric today, sorry out of country friends). We can expect freedom from terrorism as much as possible, participate in government, or protest the government, believe in any deity we wish, or not, own guns, or use baseball bats instead… We can smoke around our kids despite evidence stating how detrimental that could be for them. We can put drugs and alcohol in our bodies. We can move, get a job, be a bum, or be perpetual college students. We can own our own businesses. We can be as promiscuous or prudish as we desire. We can do all that… but sometimes we aren’t given our freedoms to birth how, with whom and where we please. Birth. Something so natural. We can do all that stuff, but we can’t ask someone to get their hands off of OUR bodies to allow us to birth naturally, nor can we invite just anyone we desire in some areas of our country such as my state, Delaware. I’ve been advocating for human rights in childbirth for a while now, and natural birth. And I still don’t understand the need for professionals to control birth, especially through the medical model of care. I must be an old soul with a midwifery model of care at heart. Childbirth is natural. It’s normal. And it’s okay to make our own healthcare decisions, regardless of whether that decision goes against the grain of the physiological process of childbirth or not. It’s MY decision. I often think: What would I say if I could ever bring myself to face the doctor who abused me during labor and actually discuss the freedoms he stripped from me with his fingers? It changes each time I think about it, sometimes the dialogue is an anger-fueled one, other times it’s rational. This is what I came up with tonight: My body, My freedoms This body you are “working” on? This patient on your table/bed? This is ME. I am a person. This is MY body. Not yours. It doesn’t reside in a textbook; its home is far from Friedman’s Curve. It is real, and it is mine. I don’t lose my freedoms and rights the moment I step into your office or get wheeled into the maternity floor. You may have gone to medical school, but I have lived in this body far longer. When I tell you what’s going on with my body, you need to shut up and listen. When I tell you to stop touching me, you need to shut up and listen. This is MY body. I have full rights over this body, you may only do to this body that which I consent. You may not:
Ah, but maybe that’s thinking too positively. When will they understand that our bodies mean our freedoms? Their education doesn’t automatically strip our rights to our bodies. (As always, yes, I know there are awesome doctors and staff out there. This post is not for them.) What would you add to these lists?
4 Comments
Christine, FNP
7/5/2013 08:28:04 pm
Yes! These things are true for ALL people seeking healthcare. Especially more complex diagnoses or anytime surgery or chemotherapy is initiated.
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7/9/2013 05:09:11 am
Of course! I hear a lot of stories of cancer patients who aren't really given freedom over their own bodies. It's amazing to me that this isn't just an issue in birth. I guess it's amazing to me that it happens at all. It shouldn't. These are our bodies!
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Courtney
7/7/2013 10:33:12 am
I would add that the doctor needs to disclose ALL the risks of any procedure they want to perform, even the ones they so often leave unsaid (ie. the risk of infection from cervical exams) BEFORE they ask whether or not I will agree to the procedure.
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AuthorWelcome to Momma Trauma's Blog! Thoughts, empowering posts and stories straight from Momma Trauma herself, Birth Trauma families & birth professionals. Archives
July 2015
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