Congratulations on your daughter! I think birth plans are a good idea in that they allow the parents some control over what had become an experience that had become very geared to convenience for the doctors and hospital rather than the mother - but birth is not something you can control, and nor is the aftermath. It always makes me sad when I read about women feeling that they have failed because there were issues during the birth or afterwards.
I agree that there should be more discourse around it, and women boasting about going back to work immediately after giving birth helps no one, because it fails to acknowledge the enormousness of growing a human, and then taking care of a helpless creature while your body and mind adjust to a massive shift.
You are absolutely right to embrace your own birth story, and it will never matter to your daughter how she came into the world, only that she came into it with love.
Thank you Louise, for being here and sharing your thoughts. I agree with everything you said, and I want to also include (should've gotten into this a bit deeper in my post) that maternity/paternity leave in the U.S. leaves a lot to be desired.
Can't agree more. I had two similar but at the same time very different births. And that through line remains throughout parenting. We might have a plan, but children have a funny way of reminding us that much is out of our control. Hope you are resting well and congratulations again!
You’re so right. For example, my baby reminds me everyday how hard it is to control my body when it comes to pumping and breastfeeding. It is such a trial at times!
Congratulations and best wishes with your recovery! There’s no wrong way to have a baby.
Thank you! And yes you are 100% right!
Congratulations on your daughter! I think birth plans are a good idea in that they allow the parents some control over what had become an experience that had become very geared to convenience for the doctors and hospital rather than the mother - but birth is not something you can control, and nor is the aftermath. It always makes me sad when I read about women feeling that they have failed because there were issues during the birth or afterwards.
I agree that there should be more discourse around it, and women boasting about going back to work immediately after giving birth helps no one, because it fails to acknowledge the enormousness of growing a human, and then taking care of a helpless creature while your body and mind adjust to a massive shift.
You are absolutely right to embrace your own birth story, and it will never matter to your daughter how she came into the world, only that she came into it with love.
Thank you Louise, for being here and sharing your thoughts. I agree with everything you said, and I want to also include (should've gotten into this a bit deeper in my post) that maternity/paternity leave in the U.S. leaves a lot to be desired.
Can't agree more. I had two similar but at the same time very different births. And that through line remains throughout parenting. We might have a plan, but children have a funny way of reminding us that much is out of our control. Hope you are resting well and congratulations again!
You’re so right. For example, my baby reminds me everyday how hard it is to control my body when it comes to pumping and breastfeeding. It is such a trial at times!