Coming Up: Birth and Breastfeeding Mythbusters
Are you currently pregnant and therefore your sister, your best friend, and the coworker who you never asked have all given unsolicited information about birth or breastfeeding? Did the random neighbor from the blue house with white shutters from around the corner swear it was impossible to give birth without tearing or getting an episiotomy? Did the cashier who noticed you were pregnant suggest you put cabbage leaves on your breasts as soon as baby is born? Has your old great-aunt Ida ever told you to immediately feed your newborn baby formula before bed so she will sleep through the night from day one? Did your second cousin once removed swear adding rice cereal to the bottle will do the trick? Has everyone who has ever had a baby that you have ever known in your life insisted you MUST buy (insert baby item that you're not sure you need, want or have space for)? Has everyone you have ever known who has ever been pregnant and given birth told you a horror story about labor and delivery that is causing you to sincerely doubt your decision to bring a child into the world? Have you googled labor and delivery and felt completely overwhelmed by the information that is out there?
If this is the case, your experience is very similar to that of gazillions of other pregnant women--and these outside voices are often very hard to combat when you are trying to figure out what YOU want, and what is best for YOUR baby. I'm here to tell you it is possible to shuffle through the unsolicited advice and conflicting information to figure out what is important, helpful and applicable to your own situation.
This is why I'm excited to introduce my upcoming blog series focused on busting birth and breastfeeding myths! Feel free to comment below, or on my Facebook Page if there is a particular piece of advice you would like to know about. Otherwise, I'll begin busting some of the most common birth-related myths I hear, so stay tuned!
If you just can't wait to start busting birth myths, or if you just like reading about birth-y topics for the layperson, then check out Evidence Based Birth to read research-based articles about birth topics. If you just want to listen to a variety of real birth stories told by real women, check out The Birth Hour Podcast.