‘My OB Said WHAT?!?’
A new web site collects "unbelievable but true" comments made to birthing, pregnant and postpartum women by their ob-gyns, midwives, and lactation consultants. From the looks of it, it's not hard to see why we've got a crisis of confidence in this country when it comes to women challenging the medical status-quo around childbirth.
I am sure most women who have been pregnant and birthed a child can quote a line or two from their ob-gyn, midwife, lactation consultant or other health care provider that just makes them cringe upon remembering. At the time, in one’s innocence or cluelessness, it may have sounded perfectly normal, maybe somewhat curious but you accepted it since you were either a) in excruciating pain the likes of which you never imagined was survivable, b) in an almost hallucinatory state, amazed at your ability to feed another human from your own body while half-asleep or c) supine on an exam table wondering how much longer you’ll be able to take the uncomfortable weight of pregnancy pressed against your spine.
Pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum days and weeks are clearly vulnerable times for women. And, sure, there are moments when even the most well intentioned of statements can be taken as completely and utterly offensive because come ON, don’t you see that I’m in a sensitive state?! But I just discovered a new site, "My OB Said WHAT?!?" that captures some of the more absurd and truly insensitive statements made to women that you really cannot mistake for anything but thoughtless and stupid [disclaimer: I do not know who the administrator of the site is nor can I vouch for its authenticity though there is nothing on the site that seems inauthentic].
Some of them, as far as I’m concerned, verge on incompetence though. And others get to the heart of why it’s not hard to imagine that too many women don’t feel confident in their ability to birth the way they choose in this country or to get the help and resources they need to breastfeed or to simply advocate for what they need. Like this one:
“Babies are just too slippery, I would most likely drop it. You need to
get into the bed. They aren’t as slippery that way.”-Family Doctor to
mom who wanted to birth standing up.
It’s not hard to understand how misconceptions and flat-out lies about childbirth are perpetuated, hmmm?
If you’ve got your own to add, head over to the site and email the administrator.