"I think sometimes ignorance is bliss"

[Glamourcide]

JazahMum - NO, you shouldn't AT ALL feel so uncomfortable voicing your thoughts!! I feel pretty much the same - DD1 was induced and I had not done enough research to know the risks involved. I was the one who asked for it, my doctor went along with it, and I nearly died. But, because DD1 was never in danger and I had no idea BB existed, I was okay with how things went because I knew that with all births, there was the potential for things to go seriously wrong, and I was just glad that it was me who was 'hurt' and not my beautiful baby girl. Then I discovered BB and learned more and tbh I'm still a bit angry with myself for not doing more research on inductions before going ahead with it, but I did what I could with the information I could find, and really, until finding BB, I had no idea that my experience was anything other than normal.
I scared the pants off myself when I was pg with DD2, because every story of late loss I read involved babies that were overdue - heart beating strong one minute, mum waiting for labour to start... then waking up the next morning to find the little angel had flown. I was overdue myself and could barely sleep for poking my belly every two minutes to make sure all was well in there - if I'd never had access to a forum like this, I would never have realised that it's not uncommon for overdue babies to be born sleeping, kwim?? So yeah, I agree, in some cases ignorance is indeed bliss! I don't think you should feel at all uncomfortable saying it out loud, especially here - if we know anything, it's that everybody's experiences and feelings are different and I would hope that we all respect those feelings, regardless of our own.

[Sagres]

I don't know if I would say ignorance is bliss for me, I needed some information to work from but I didn't want to be drowning in information either.

I wouldn't assume just because she is using the services of an ob who she trusts she is not informed or going to be taken advantage of. I found that through choosing an ob I could 'hand pick' some one who had similar views to me and who I could talk to and work with. I always felt very comfortable with the decisions my ob and I made together. No my labour didn't happen quite how I would have chosen but that wasn't because I was using an ob, it was a because my body was developing PE and that meant my ob and I had some different decisions to make together.

At the end of the day your collegue could do all the research in the world, be wonderfully well informed and still chose a labour that is influenced by medical interventions, because that is what is OK for her. It isn't what I would choose, it isn't what you would choose, but some people are absolutely fine with that type of birth experience.

[Roryrory]

Jazahmum I know where you are coming from, and Glamour IKWYM about freaking yourself out (I have actually stopped reading certain parts of BB because I get scared - I figure I am aware that things can go wrong, but I don't want to know too many details until it is upon me because statisticallt things do usually work out ok. But as we all know that doesn't help when you are pregnant and worrying yourself silly about prem birth, cords, blood loss, etc.) And Sarges I know what you mean too.

I've decided to drop the whole subject with her but if she asks or it comes up in corversation to say I had a great time with both births for a whole variety of reasons - luck of biology (for both my sons and I), luck in who I chose as care providers, but a good dose of knowledge and confidence.

[bon]

Jazahmum - don't be afraid to voice your feelings hun. Be proud that you had three great births with an Ob you trusted and who made you feel comfortable. Medical intervention does not have to equal a bad birthing experience, and agreeing to something like induction on the recommendation of your health care provider does not necessarily mean you are uninformed or setting yourself up for a bad experience.

I think there is difference between not wanting to hear about other people's birth experiences, or hear about all the things that can possbily go wrong in labour and birth, and not having a clue about the mechanics of how labour and birth work. I think all women, at the very least, need to be informed about normal, physiological labour and birth - how it works and how our bodies are designed to give birth vaginally. And if their health care provider proposes a certain intervention, women are entitled to full disclosure of the reasons, and the risks and benefits of such. That is being informed IMO and the level to which you wish to be informed is a personal thing - some of us are content with the explanations we are given by our doctors/midwives, some of us want to know more.

[Trillian]

I think there is difference between not wanting to hear about other people's birth experiences, or hear about all the things that can possbily go wrong in labour and birth, and not having a clue about the mechanics of how labour and birth work. I think all women, at the very least, need to be informed about normal, physiological labour and birth - how it works and how our bodies are designed to give birth vaginally. And if their health care provider proposes a certain intervention, women are entitled to full disclosure of the reasons, and the risks and benefits of such. That is being informed IMO and the level to which you wish to be informed is a personal thing - some of us are content with the explanations we are given by our doctors/midwives, some of us want to know more.

Bon you sum it up really well.

Jaz, I hope nothing I said made you feel unsure about posting because I do understand.

It's just that I think the majority of women are so uninformed about the potential risks simply because they never get told as Dr's can be cagey buggers and don't always disclose 100% of the information. Women cannot have complete autonomy in birth unless they know all the facts. Before I came here I had no idea about the risks of inductions or c/s's because even though I had had 3 children by then, I was never told about the side effects of syncto inductions - even though I had several of them kwim? I know that sometimes knowing too much can be hard to get out of your head when you just need to focus, but it's that knowledge that can make the difference sometimes.

[Patooties]

hey Trill - not at all. I didn't really mean anyone in particular in this thread - I guess across the board there are some incredibly passionate people ( which is wonderful) that i guess I often feel intimated by. (my choice to allow myself to feel intimated though, so my own problem )

with my own inductions - my Ob didn't tell me all of the things that could go wrong - and I started to do a little reading, but then decided against knowing everything, just because I didn't want to stress myself. It wasn't until I joined here that I was thankful that I didn't know! It may have been a different story if my ob was suggesting induction for no particular reason - then i would have done a bit of research.

[Lulu]

I think there is difference between not wanting to hear about other people's birth experiences, or hear about all the things that can possbily go wrong in labour and birth, and not having a clue about the mechanics of how labour and birth work. I think all women, at the very least, need to be informed about normal, physiological labour and birth - how it works and how our bodies are designed to give birth vaginally. And if their health care provider proposes a certain intervention, women are entitled to full disclosure of the reasons, and the risks and benefits of such. That is being informed IMO and the level to which you wish to be informed is a personal thing - some of us are content with the explanations we are given by our doctors/midwives, some of us want to know more.

Absolutely