And because I have to put something 'ranty'.
Interesting Fact : Ever since Will's pregnancy/birth ... I'm less desperate to prove my point. (dramatic noise) TILL NOW! HA.
Interesting Fact with Too Much Information : Ever since Will's birth I can run and NOT pee a little every time. Perhaps because I was treated with the UTMOST respect before/during/after my son's birth? Yes. There was no jamming of fists anywhere before/during/after the birth of the Boy.
One more interesting fact before the rant : I just drank a whole cup of coffee with hot chocolate in it and it's 10:00 pm. Smart? Not likely. Addicted to my Tassimo? Probably.
Onward.
I have only watched 1 hour of The Other side of the Glass free preview, which expires tonight at midnight I believe. I posted it on my facebook profile. Twice. Why? Because I live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people who think I'm crazy. I will admit to being a tad random sometimes, but crazy? not in this area baby. Without digging up too much crap about Amélie's birth/postpartum experience I can honestly say that I was let down by the hospital. Especially by those who told me I could trust them. Like ... where the F were you when I needed you? Corey did amazing. He immediately stayed with Amélie while the nurses/doctors poked, prodded, attempted to vaccinate and put eye drops. He protected her from things he 'knew' unnecessary. It meant I had to be left unprotected and was extremely 'violated' by a doctor at the hospital, but at least she was 'safer'. Corey, myself and our doula were verbally and mentally abused. My baby cried for like 20 minutes before someone came to 'tell me' to feed my baby. Wow. Thanks for the help. I had no idea what I was doing, but I got to cuddle her.She was kept from my room for 26 hours to be on oxygen. Corey and I took up space in the nursery almost ALL The time. I kid you not, my eyeballs fell out and rolled on the ground a bit when a nurse SUDDENLY realized that her oxygen sensor ... wasn't on properly. And look at that!!! When it was on properly she was reading at totally fine!!!
Perhaps coincidence, perhaps God, perhaps this lactation consultant read my mind, but she came in and got shit going. The way she defended me/my baby and my birth experience will never be forgotten. Seriously. The bomb. She said what I couldn't. Can I remember her name? No. Because I'm a moron who didn't write anything down at the time. But if she ever finds her way here. Awesome, you were.
True or not. It felt like we were being punished for having a homebirth. And I thought I was doing the RIGHT thing by bringing her to the hospital. That and my gut told me she needed oxygen (which WAS true to some degree) And do you know what I learned from this entire experience? Don't have a baby in 'THIS' hospital. The fact that I felt I was being punished is true. I felt that way. If the nursing team made me feel that way ... well guess what ... they made me feel that way. This isn't a game of 'well we didn't mean to'. They did. And didn't bother trying to make me feel less than lame. And I think the worst ones were the ones I knew ... not exactly 'personally' but that I was aware of their relatives? perhaps? Because they thought they could just do whatevs.
To many, this is old news. Corinne whining. I'm not whining. I'm advocating. This shit actually happened to me. I'm not hypothesizing. Wake up! I got PPD bad! But not as bad as others have it/have gotten in/will get it.
Sigh. What the Hell was I walking about? Oh yeah. Watch the video. Do the research. No harm will come from being informed. But the damage that will be caused by being ignorant will last a lifetime.
One more interesting fact : I forget because my daughter just said something HILARIOUS.
6 comments:
Corinne I do not think you are whining and I respect and admire your advocacy. I just wanted to tell you though that I had two hospital births and was treated with the utmost respect and dignity with both. I am not trying to trivialize your experience but rather am just sharing mine.
Corinne that was not meant to be anonymous. Obviously I am new to this!
Cheryl Anderson
Thanks Cheryl. I rewrote this comment at least twenty times trying to get it right. I give up. Here it is.
I'm really, truly glad you were able to have those experiences! REALLY! I even mean it.
Fact is : I wasn't. Corey wasn't. our Doula wasn't. Amélie wasn't. It shouldn't be 'luck of the draw' either. It should seriously not be 'oh you just had shitty nurses'. That's dumb. We should be able to go to the hospital and know that no matter WHO is present at our birth, they will treat us and our family unit with the ABSOLUTE respect and dignity. I think we can all agree to that. :)
Corrine. Thank you so much for writing this! I, too, know what it feels like to be abused by hospital staff who disagree with homebirth. After my homebirth, I went in to the hospital for stitching. I was treated most horribly. I too, felt, that I was being punished for having a homebirth. It wasn't at ALL veiled. I was told (among other things) by the OB: "What gives you the right to have a homebirth?" (Um, the LAW?) He berated my husband and I, lied to us and ultimately refused to treat me!
I'm extremely grateful that my newborn was SAFE, waiting in the car with her grandma.
I believe it's more than families being let down (though they most certainly are).
Basic human rights are being violated today in Canada.
That's the truth. And the kicker is that it's taking place in hospitals under the guise of medicine. (So much for "do no harm.")
Again, love your words, your passion. Keep on writing and telling your story.
Favorite line: "No harm will come from being informed. But the damage that will be caused by being ignorant will last a lifetime."
YOU BET. Upon entering the hospital, I made the (wrong) assumption that I would be treated with respect and dignity. Sadly, this was not the case and this will continue for many families unless we do something about it.
Yes, we should ALL be treated with respect and dignity regardless of our birthing choices. It's vital for people to know that this just isn't occurring! I'm also happy for the women who find that they are treated well. That's the way it should be. The goal is that ALL women should be treated equally with respect and dignity. Not some, or even most. All.
We ALL need to speak up to this in order for change to occur.
Another truth: treatment IS currently "luck of the draw!!!" This was confirmed to me when I consulted a different doctor a few days after this happened. I explained how I was devastated by my earlier treatment--I was utterly BAFFLED that this could happen. While "sympathetic," this was my reply: "but that's not common treatment, I mean surely the chances of that happening are slim." Nice. Thanks, that helps. I'll just shut up and accept my "unluckiness."
No, I will not. I will speak to this and am grateful to all others who speak to it. Silence is the thing that allows this to continue to mothers and their families.
Oops, Sorry that I misspelled your name, Corinne!!!! = )
I had to have c-sections for my two births, and even if I could have done it naturally, I am sure I would have still chosen to have hospital births. Now, while I would classify them as both good and bad I am sorry that anyone should get treated badly because someone's "personal" views cloud their judgement. I mean, people are supposed to join the medical profession because they want to HELP PEOPLE, not force their views on people.
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