As for the cosmetic surgery mentality, it is all quite sad. I wonder why a vagina that has birthed a human being is so disparaged by our culture. Even if that’s how you see things, save the surgery for after the birth, and let your baby out in the way that is safest and healthiest for you both. And if we take care of women in the way that is optimal, we may find that we put the vaginoplasty folks out of business, because we might just discover that all of that injury was from meddling in childbirth, rather than from the birth itself!

There is a lot of mythology around the idea that doctors or women can intervene somehow in the final weeks of pregnancy to prevent “damage” to the mother’s body. It’s a cosmetic surgery mentality. I am pretty sure it’s mostly a meme perpetuated by journalists but it’s sticking. If 37 weeks is term, then I can avoid stretch marks by scheduling a c-section or an induction then, right? I can avoid hemmorhoids or pelvic floor damage by scheduling an early birth or surgery, right? Isn’t that what the celebrities do?

I’d add to avoid unnecessary Pitocin, if possible. I have met countless women, including many good friends, who were told they needed to induce or just augment with a little Pit, then found their pain reaching unmanageable peaks, at which point they were promptly offered an epidural. Then their story becomes that labor pain is unbearable and impossible. Artificially augmented and induced labor usually hurts! A lot!

The other effect of multiple interventions is that I hear many women say that they’re just not really good at laboring. I never know what to say so I don’t really say anything– I just listen. I wonder how they would feel if they were able to give birth in optimal– or at least better– conditions.