Birth Better with Meghan

I think the #1 benefit of childbirth education is reducing fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of our bodies. Fear of birth.

Fear will always exist. It’s supposed to. It’s protective. But it shouldn’t be in control during birth.

Learning how our bodies work, and not just what can go wrong, can make a significant impact on how we think about and experience pregnancy and birth.

For me, childbirth education isn’t a nice to have. It’s a must have. Our culture fails us when it comes to learning about and understanding our female bodies. I was in my late 30s when I learned there were four phases of our menstrual cycle! Let alone how birth works and how I can support my body and baby to have a smooth, more confident experience.

If you took a childbirth education class, what did you find helpful? What do you wish you had learned?

Not going to lie, I almost got stuck in the coat.

Also not gonna lie about the necessary change in your role in pregnancy and birth. In the not so distant past, the final authority over birth was the doctor. What they said went, no questions asked. Mother’s voices and choices silenced. Mothers as authorities in their births, preposterous.

But the tide is changing. And, like most things, there are extremes. There are people who demonize medical care and refuse all intervention to the extent of harm to themselves or babies. There are still medical professionals who demand submission and treat mothers as inconvenient.

But from what I’m seeing? There is more collaboration. More compassion and rethinking how we approach low risk birth. There are more respectful conversations between providers and mother. There are more mothers who are done tolerating care that makes them feel fear-mongered, dismissed or overreactive. There is no better time to find your voice and your confidence than when you’re about to meet your child.

The old guard is out. And it’s making way for a better model of care. Be a part of the solution.

Don’t overthink it and don’t make her make too many decisions that you could do yourself.

Support. Reassurance. Options. Encouragement. Love. Keep her moving. Keep her hydrated.

Keep it simple ❤️

Hot take 🔥

Show up, have a baby and don’t die isn’t funny because women *actually* are showing up and dying.

We are swinging from one extreme to the next. An informed woman, who is educated about birth, trusts her physiology, who understands interventions and how/when they are used and has a voice in her birth shouldn’t be a threat to anyone. And if you’re triggered by women with “plans” - what’s that really about? Because it’s not about her.

Demanding more accountability from a system that has been causing preventable harm to women isn’t being unreasonable. I’d call it being a responsible consumer.

Effacement matters! Dilation always steals the show, but you can’t have fully dilated cervix that is also firm. Especially if you’re a first time parent, much of the work in early labor is thinning the cervix. This is invisible work and doesn’t happen overnight. Dilation is only one piece of the equation and hardly the most important.

Hospital systems need to change. There are definitely providers who are causing harm. AND there are still health care professionals who care about you and your birth. I’ve been witness to the horrible and the surprisingly supported.

Nuance is lost on social media. And every experience is individual. Let’s not demonize entire professions and expect them to be open to our perspective.