"I WASN'T ALLOWED"

"I WASN'T ALLOWED" I'm seeing a lot of this lately. Comments on Instagram and discussions with women reflecting on their birth options & experiences.

As birth professionals, we must give evidence based information. Hospital guidelines are simply that - guidelines. They are not there to be enforced and in SOME situations, guidelines are not always backed up by CURRENT evidence and research.

Ask questions, ask for the stats and evidence. The decision you make for you and your baby is yours. We as professionals should be helping you to make an informed decision for yourself and your baby.

We are not the law, we cannot enforce treatment (in normal circumstances) we cannot 'allow' or 'disallow' women. We give information, benefits and risks and then its over to you.

This post isn't a about creating distrust between you and your care provider, this is about taking ownership of your birth and exercising your right to make your own decisions on any aspect of your pregnancy & birth.

I'm running a childbirth rights workshop next Saturday on zoom with my special guest Illy @mixing.up.motherhood If you want to join us, click the link in my bio to sign up and learn!