EP18| Ashley – Part 1 Two unnecessary C-Section births due to plus size discrimination & the systems failures
In this episode, I become very raw & vulnerable & share my first two cesarean section births.
And I don’t hold anything back!
I share all the emotions happy and sad.
And I explain from my experiences and point of view the impact of not receiving good support during this important time.
Sharing that not having continuity of care can lead women feeling isolated and lonely.
And receiving often bad advice and information.
This is because care providers are not invested as much in you and your outcome.
Lack of adequate care leading to poor mother & baby outcomes
It not only can lead to the woman experiencing a bad birth, or birth trauma but further long term issues.
Like breastfeeding and postpartum trauma.
Making it harder for the mother to bond with her newborn baby, and care for older children (let alone herself).
Not to mention the possibility of contributing to birth trauma, or Postnatal depression.
Women often remember how they feel about their births many years later
While I feel healed tremendously by my most recent homebirth after two c-sections I also will forever remember how I was made to feel by health care providers.
During these experiences, the good and bad emotions that will forever be retained in my muscle memory.
And while I don’t experience flashbacks of the traumatic birth of my second baby I remember how I felt.
I remember feeling scared, unsupported, unsafe and let down.
Women deserve to feel supported, heard and be able to make informed choices around their pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
And we as a society and whole need to step up and support women the way we know they need to be supported.
We have enough research to show the benefits of continuity of care.
And treating vulnerable people with respect and compassion.
It’s really a no brainer – yet we are still left in a culture that leaves mothers out to dry.
I hope by sharing the very detailed experiences of my births that you learn something that can help you plan for a calm and peaceful pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
A message for health care providers
If you are a health care professional I hope that you learn how much of an impact you make on mothers, babies and new families.
Every day you turn up to work you have a choice to lead with love and compassion and be a positive influence.
Or you choose to be a negative and hurtful influence.
The choice is up to you.
I thank those who wholeheartedly dedicate their lives to supporting women to feel safe, supported and to make informed choices they feel are right for them.
These stories talk about GD diagnosis and what impact that can have on your pregnancy & birth (plus some of my views on the new testing levels).
I share breastfeeding challenges – as well as learning from those mistakes and breastfeeding my second baby for 12 months.
Plus size discrimination and the many system failures that any women are impacted by.
Here is a study on Weight stigma in maternity care: women’s experiences and care providers’ attitudes:
https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2393-13-19?fbclid=IwAR0UjMKil9LISmQxvFfz7WgsKXTkrtJ1DEse-4WRuRO2xk7SZ6wb_38lfpg
For any pregnant woman listening, I hope that you have a positive experience.
With love,
Ashley x
Listen to this episode now!
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