You Don't Get to Have an Opinion on How Anyone Gives Birth. Ever.

http://jezebel.com/you-dont-get-to-have-an-opinion-on-how-anyone-gives-bir-1651464132?utm_content=buffer33e28&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Giving birth to a human being—however it happens—is a visceral, memorable and profound life experience. Why do so many people feel entitled to pass judgment on the way that anyone else makes it through?

You know what I mean. You've probably done it, even. Whether or not you've had a kid, you've probably texted about that friend from high school's TMI Facebook birth photos where you can basically see her vagina. You might've told the pregnant lady in the grocery store just how bad the pain is, so don't even think about trying to be a martyr because you should definitely get the meds, honey. This social tendency has practically been ingrained as tradition: passing on advice, mostly unsolicited, is part of almost every conversation about birth.

Which is why it feels so necessary to issue this reminder: You don't actually get to have an opinion about where or how or why anyone else gives birth. Ever.

The culture around birth in the United States is a damaging culture of fear, guilt, and shame. It is a culture that teaches us that once we become pregnant, we are no longer capable of making our own decisions, no longer the stewards of our own bodies. It tells us that our bodies are broken and can't bring a baby into this world without the help of synthetic hormones or a scalpel, while simultaneously reinforcing the idea that childbirth should be a perfect and beautiful experience where we act like amazing warrior goddesses who don't yell or poop or beg for drugs.