Everyone from medical professionals to strangers tell pregnant people what they should and shouldn’t be doing with their bodies. Throughout my two pregnancies, OB-GYNs, nurses, family, and friends often used phrases like “you can’t,” “you’re not allowed to,” and “we’ll let you” when discussing my body.
Unfortunately, this is standard practice in U.S. medicine, which supports a disease-based, doctor-centered, patriarchal model of care (as opposed to patient-based care, which emphasizes collaboration, understanding, and choices). Policies and protocols are set up to avoid liability.
While in labor with my first child in 2015, I was told I couldn’t move around or go to the bathroom on my own, switch positions without assistance, or eat anything besides ice chips.
[For more on this story by, Rachael Rifkin go to http://www.yesmagazine.org/hap...ardest-part-20171102]
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