Julie advocates for less medicalized approaches to birth.

Written testimony

One I would say just even around the birthing process is I wish I trusted my body more. And the experience was less medicalized. I think a lot of my problems started from the induction itself. And I – so whenever, you know, pregnant women talk to me and, you know, through my circle of friend network I’ll always just say to them, like, just make sure that you follow what – your gut and, like, what you want to do and listen to your voice. Because I think at the end of the day, like, I think our voices matter and I think the medical profession needs to listen more to women and their families as to what they want and what are their needs. And, you know, yes, you can throw statistics about stillbirths et cetera but at the end of the day, like, you know, to pressure someone to have an induction with a threat that if anything happens it’s the mom’s fault is not OK. So, I wish I had – if I could talk to myself back then I would, you know, encourage myself to push back more and to listen more to what I want the experience to look like.

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More content

• Advice for Policymakers – Julie
  Julie offered this perspective:
• Advice for Health Care Providers – Julie (clip 2)
  Julie advocates for less medicalized approaches to birth.
• Advice for Health Care Providers – Julie
  Julie advises giving women information at the appropriate times, when they can absorb it.
• Coping with Perinatal Mental Health – Julie
  Julie could not use her usual method of managing stress because of a birth injury.
• Gaps in Health Care System – Julie
  Julie advocates a whole-person approach to the pregnancy journey.
• Seeking Help and Getting Diagnosis – Julie
  Despite having clearly stated that she was not feeling well, Julie still had to wait weeks before getting support.
• Relationships – Julie
  Julie's husband did not know what to do or how to navigate the health care system to get help.
• Support from Family and Friends – Julie
  A friend of Julie recognized the red flags and helped to get the support she needed.
• Managing Personal Challenges with Sleeping and Eating – Julie
  Looking back, Julie realizes how a chronic lack of sleep spiraled into heightened anxiety.
• Managing New Routines – Julie
  Going from a successful working life to being with her child every day has challenged Julie to expand her skillset.