ONE OF MY PERSONAL PREGNANCY STORIES
Yesterday I saw a post that caught my attention, to the point that I just had to share it on my @mothersaredivine instagram account. I run a few different accounts, so that anyone interested in a special area of what I share about as a Kundalini Yoga teacher, can more easily filter what they see. This one is about the yogic motherhood teachings.
This reminded me of an experience I had when I was pregnant. I had two doctors giving me two different opinions. This isn’t uncommon when you consult with the medical system, but when you are pregnant it can of course lead you to confusion (or reassurance as it actually turned out to giv me in the end).
When I was about 38 weeks pregnant, I went to a scan at the hospital. I wasn’t planning to birth in the hospital, but at home, which I also shared with the doctor there. He unfortunately wasn’t so supportive of that, and pulled out the list of all the things that could go wrong which he proceeded to state to my husband (in spanish with me sitting next to not understanding a word). After we had the scan, he said to us that our baby was in a low percentile, and he recommended an induction of labor. Pretty resistant and confused, I asked what was the reason to suggest something like that, and he said my placenta 2wasn’t giving enough nourishment to my son”.
I had had a completely normal pregnancy, and nothing had alarmed me until that day. I didn’t want to be induced, and I didn’t want to birth in the hospital, but I felt now under pressure.
We received a next appointment, to come back in a couple of days, and monitor again if my son was growing.
In the next days, I saw my private midwife, who unfortunately wasn’t too reassuring either, and said that it would be best to follow hospital protocal, if that was what we were advised. This again felt quite discouraging, and I received some none medical labor stimulating procedures (membrane sweeps, raspberry leaf extract etc.) None of it “worked”, meaning I didn’t go into labor, and if I had known what I know now, I wouldn’t have accepted any of these procedures, because I was acting out of fear, instead of any evidence based actual concerns about my child.
At no point did I consider the induction, I was only trying to consider how to get out of it if they started scheduling one.
Now there’s a larger debate to be had here about inductions, and maybe you have had an induction or you have no opposition to inductions.
My story if you read until the end, or if you listened in my stories yesterday, is actually more about how we in the maternal medical system can meet people with different opinions, and how quickly it can shape how we feel or the outcome of our pregnancy.
I went to the next appointment, but this time I said I didn’t want a male doctor (you can request that, no questions asked—or at least no questions should be asked). They said I would have to wait but I didn’t mind. I wanted to see what happened if I saw another doctor, and got a second opinion. So I waited around 45min for the appointment. I went in, we did a scan, and the (woman) doctor told me “all good and see you when you get into labor” (I avoided sharing about the home birth this time).
Nothing had changed, my son hadn’t grown to a higher percentile, but this doctor visit was completely different from the previous one a few days before.
(In case you’re curious: I birthed my son at 40 weeks and 3 days at home, as I had envisioned. My son was estimated to 2.8kg at the last scan we had but was born at 3.2kg)
I’m sharing my story because this is an example of how confusing the medical system can be, and because it illustrate how someone’s opinion can quickly influence the course. It is so important to be educated, to know your rights, and to ask for second opinions, more time to think if that’s what you need, and to generally guard your self and your baby, if you are pregnant.
It shouldn’t have to be like this, but unfortunately it is in many cases. Are there good people out there too, and can you meet them in the medical system too? Yes absolutely! I hope you will meet the right people for you during your pregnancy. And I hope you will prepare yourself well, for the scenarios when maybe you meet the wrong person, for you and your pregnancy.
If you are interested in learning more about how to create self sovereignty in pregnancy, check out my upcoming training, Mothers Divine Course, which begins on Sunday, March 23, and which is a prenatal yoga training based on Kundalini Yoga and evidence based child birth education. Learn More.
Oh and if you didn’t see it, or if you’re interested in hearing me tell my story, Here is the video from yesterday’s IG stories.
