The 'Boss' of your own body! & BRAIN

A client told me today that whilst at her consultant appointment, they said to her "you will need an induction at 39 weeks due to your age (She was over 40, but perfectly fit and healthy with no medical conditions" and when she braved to question it they said "You are the Boss!, but we don't want you going over 40 weeks" I was honestly astounded but not shocked!

I told her, it's exactly right that you are the boss! This is your body, your baby and your experience and nobody can tell you what to do and how and when to do it!

It infuriates me that doctors can take a morale high ground and believe they are in charge of a womans body. Whilst I believe there is room for doctors in the pregnancy and birth world when things are going wrong, I dont believe in control, misogony, manipulation and coercion - its all the traits of an abusive and toxic relationship!

I am using a lot of !!! in this post because I honestly cant believe the language used these days and that its allowed to happen.

We talk all the time about 'informed consent' and how women deserve to be presented with all the relevant options so they can make an informed decision, how can we possibly be instilling that if we are telling the woman what she MUST do X,Y,Z and making the environment feel threatened if she doesnt do it!

Women deserve to make decisions about their own body, in their own time, and with all the evidence-based information and options to hand.

With that in mind I wanted to touch on the BRAIN acronym and how it can be useful for situations like this.

B - Benefits, ask " what are the benefits of what you are suggesting?"

R - Risks, ask "what are the risks of what you are suggesting?"

A - Alternatives, ask "are there any other alternatives to what you are suggesting or any other options available?"

I - Intuition, think, what is your gut telling you to do. Mothers Intuition is so powerful and you absolutely should embrace it, its one of our greatest protective factors.

N - Nothing, ask, "what happens if we just do nothing or if we wait longer?" Can we wait? Give it longer? See what happens?

By having the BRAIN acronym in your toolbox you can feel empowered and confident to be able to question decisions. Remember that no decision about you should be made without you!

This acronym can be used in many of lifes daily occurences, its handy to breakdown what is happening and just allow time for you to consider things carefully.

Never let anyone make your decisions for you! If you feel like you don't have a voice, get a Doula or an Independent Midwife, someone to be your advocate, your voice and to ensure your heard.