Scans, ‘natural’ childbirth and epidurals: the political shifts in maternal care
It’s been curious to note what’s changed between 2014, when I last gave birth and 2020, when all signs point towards me doing so again. There are the small things, such as the quality of ultrasound scans, which this time seem so accurate, so detailed and school-photo-like compared to the eerie shadows we were presented with last time. Small things, like the prevalence of baby slings today – with Meghan Markle herself caught up in a “babywearing scandal” – and weaning advice, and the crushing weight of knowing too much.
And then there are the larger things, like my midwife’s detailed advice about monitoring the movement of the baby, the rhythm of its literal gut punches, and why to go to hospital when it starts drumming. There’s been a shift in origins of influence, in the places women get their information. When Kim Kardashian posted on Instagram about a morning sickness medication (in exchange for a reported $500,000), sales for the prescription pill jumped 21% to nearly $41.7m – today midwives only have so much power. Mothers continue, like me, to age – there’s a rumour that, at the hospital where I’m planning to give birth, there are more pregnant women over 50 than under 20.
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