08/24/2022
Induction š increased pain š epidural š non-reassuring fetal heart tones š "emergency" c-section
Do you see what happened there?
That was the cascade of interventions.
It starts with something that you're told is harmless, like an induction. "It's the same as natural labor", they say. "Aren't you ready to meet your baby?!" they say. "Your baby is measuring big," they say.
So you agree.
But then the pain is too much. The contractions are right on top of each other. You can't get a break.
"If you get an epidural, you can rest," they say.
So you agree.
And you do get some rest, but then your baby's heart rate is starting to dip and not recover.
"Baby's not tolerating labor well. We think we should get them out," they say. They mean c-section. You're afraid for your baby.
So you agree.
"Thank goodness you were in the hospital," your family says. "Those doctors and nurses saved your baby."
But did they?
Maybe. But if they had left you alone, if they hadn't induced you unnecessarily, if you had gone into labor on your own and given birth how you wanted, would there have been anything to even save you from?
I hear this exact story almost daily. Some women recognize what was done to them, others don't. Either way loads of them end up with depression, anxiety, and PTSD from their birth experience, and it didn't have to be that way.