Why Do I Focus on Content Marketing for Natural Birth Professionals?
I was 38 weeks pregnant and my regular OB couldn’t be at my appointment because she was at another birth. A woman I had never met came into the room and we went through my history. Yes I have Gestational Diabetes. Yes I have been going to my weekly ultrasound appointments and the baby is measuring in at 50%. Yes I know that you want to induce sooner than later. Yes my doctor told me I am supposed to schedule an induction before I leave this appointment BUT…
I feel fine. The baby is measuring fine. The weekly ultrasound shows that she is fine. And the kid is sitting so low I’m surprised she hasn’t just fallen out on her own yet. I think I am going to have this baby on my own soon.
The doctor gave me a skeptical look and said she’d have to check me to make sure I was making some progress. She was a stranger and clearly didn’t have a lot of time for my appointment. She did her check, which was just as uncomfortable as actual childbirth, and said “Yeah you are getting nowhere. You need to schedule an induction at the desk on your way out.”
I was mad. I walked right past the desk and left. Eric followed and asked if I planned to pick a date for induction. “No. We will meet her when we meet her. She’s fine.”
But I wasn’t fine. I went home and cried all afternoon. Finally Eric looked at me and said “That’s it! Get up!” and I sat there VERY pregnant and grumpy and said something along the lines of “EXCUSE ME?!”
“Get up. We’re going to dance. Who knows when you are going to have this baby but I refuse to let you let you feel this way while you are still pregnant. We need to enjoy it. Get up.”
And the man put on Walk The Moon’s Shut Up and Dance (which is clearly how he was feeling haha) and we danced like crazy people in our living room. After I was exhausted and needed to sit down (which was probably like 2 songs in) I told him my plan. I’m gonna give this baby 40 weeks. I am going to go to these checks and make sure she’s okay. But I am not going to discuss induction until 40 weeks. Not while she’s doing fine.
And that was it you guys, that was the golden ticket. The moment I realized I was in control, was the moment I finally relaxed enough to let my body do what it needed to do. Just a little over 24 hours after that living room dance party, I was waking Eric to tell him it was time to have a baby.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not knocking inductions. I’m not knocking c-sections. I’m not knocking any form of birth. I’m knocking the system that believes that one woman with gestational diabetes should be treated like every other woman with gestational diabetes. Every pregnancy is unique. Every pregnancy is a miracle and you deserve ALL THE THINGS for making it through. You don’t deserve to be bullied because it is easier to group you with other women who came before you with the same condition.
But maybe I should thank them? Because I learned to speak up against bad advice. One of the first things Addison heard when she joined our world was me shouting “I KNEW I could do this.” It also reminded me that my husband can see the tiny glimpse of light in the darkest places, and that he is my all time favorite teammate. And finally, it gave me the motivation I needed to open my own business so that I can help natural birth professionals scream from the rooftops “There are better options out here! We are not all the same!” because just like birthing women, no two care providers are the same.
Yes, maybe they need a thank you card. I’ll have my daughter sign it as the not-so-giant 6lb 10oz vaginally birthed gestational diabetes baby.
That’s why I Focus on Content Marketing for Natural Birth Professionals?