Dear friend,
“Don’t eat sushi.” “Don’t go on roller coasters.” “No hot-tubbing.” “No unpasteurized cheese.” Sometimes it can seem like pregnancy “do’s and don’ts” are designed to make you feel like less of an autonomous adult, presuming that just because you’re carrying a new life, you’re somehow less capable of appropriately weighing benefits and risks for yourself.
Of course, we know that’s not true. When given more information about their reproductive health and fertility, women are fully capable of making empowered, evidence-based choices for themselves—no matter the stage or season of their reproductive lives. This week, we’re featuring two articles concerning a few of the choices women can make regarding labor and delivery, that we hope will both inform and empower them to make the best choices they can for themselves (and their babies).
First up, we have Kristen Curran breaking down the evidence (or lack thereof) for inducing labor when your doctor suspects you might be having a “big baby.” Second, we have Taryn DeLong giving us the scoop on cervical checks during labor, what they can and can’t tell you about when you might finally meet your baby, and whether you can decline them altogether.
Just like with family planning decisions, women often have more choices in pregnancy, labor, and delivery than their doctors may let on (or know about themselves!). We’re grateful for the opportunity to be the bridge in the knowledge gap that too often keeps women from being able to plan their families the way they want to, or to have the birth experiences they desire.
Action call this week: Have an expectant mom in your life? We want you to forward this week’s newsletter to them, and to encourage them to check out all of NW’s Pregnancy Health, Postpartum, and Breastfeeding resources!
All the best,
Grace Emily Stark
Editor
Natural Womanhood
| Is a “big baby” a good reason to have an induction? While some doctors consider inducing labor to be pretty routine, it can be a big decision for an expecting mother. An induction can squash hopes of having a natural birth, increase risk of an unplanned Cesarean birth, and increase risk of infection… With 4 in 25 inductions of labor occurring due to the baby’s size, this poses two important questions: 1) How do we know how big a baby will be before he or she is born? And 2) is it important to induce labor early before a larger-than-average baby grows any bigger? Click here to read the full article. |
| Cervical checks during labor: are they necessary? Recently, I wrote about cervical checks during pregnancy—what doctors look for during a check, and what a check can and can’t tell you. I noted that during labor, the information gained in a cervical check is often more meaningful than the information gained in a cervical check before labor has begun. In this article, we’ll explore that idea further: When and why do medical providers do cervical checks during labor? What does checking a laboring woman’s cervix tell them? What are the risks to having one’s cervix checked, and what (if any) are the alternatives? Click here to read the full article. |
| From the NW Archives: The 6 things every woman considering a natural childbirth needs to know While I have no intention of throwing shade on women who want epidurals (many of whom have positive experiences!) or need anesthesia as part of a Cesarean birth, looking back, my own automatic dismissal of “natural childbirth” reflected a lack of understanding about the good and beautiful design of women’s bodies. Since that first birth, I have gone on to have two successful, epidural-free births. Here are the six things I think every woman considering a natural childbirth needs to know. Click here to read the full article. |