Hey there. Thanks to everyone who logged on and responded last week! As several of you pointed out, maybe the reason we all feel such an elevated level of risk when it comes to childbirth is that we are constantly bombarded with scary stories about what can go wrong. We've all stayed up late flipping through "What to Expect" and panicking because the baby hasn't kicked in the last three minutes or because we accidentally slept on our back during the night. And it's almost a ritual of pregnancy to be assailed by stories about other people's miscarriages or emergency C-sections. As Kathleen posted, we live in a "fear-based society." Of course, bad things happen. But so do healthy, normal, complication-free births. In fact, the majority of births are fairly drama-free (except, of course, to the mom, for whom it is always an emotional epic worthy of a Celine Dion anthem). Maybe it's our voyeuristic nature or our taste for scary campfire tales, but those code-red stories get a lot more play in the collective conversation than the happy-ending ones.
I remember when I was pregnant, I was told by at least three different people to be careful walking on the ice, because if I tripped, I could LOSE THE BABY! And my first thought was, if it is so easy to miscarry that way, then why would we have the need for medical abortion? Then, of course, I would cross the street and walk three blocks out of my way to avoid a patch of ice, just in case...
Did you get annoyed by everyone's cautionary childbirth tales, or do you think it is important to be aware of all the possible complications? Is there a happy balance? What is the craziest thing anyone said to you when you were pregnant?
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2 comments:
I actually don't mind the "what went wrong" stories. I feel like I need to be emotionally prepared for anything, so I can go with the flow when the big day arrives. (It's fast approaching!) But I do think it's strange when my parents and in-laws worry so much about everyday things like me walking in the winter chill. They've had seven kids between them, and non were born with frostbite.
I think I'm the only one on the planet who wasn't regaled with horror stories, but I just didn't hear that many. I wasn't too worried about what would go wrong.
Then again, I think it's natural to worry during pregnancy. Most moms do.
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