Julie offered this perspective:
Written testimony
And then I think, like, best piece advice for the health system more at large is that we need to be supporting women and their families or birthing people to be more inclusive. Birthing people through this journey. From a very, very psychosocial perspective, and really removing the medicalization of childbirth and postpartum – even pregnancy experiences. You know? Even, like, and I often tell women who are older to push back against these geriatric labels, to trust their bodies. Obviously they have to, you know, we need to be mindful of, like, there’s clear medical indications for things. But to not be, like, labelled and then streamlined just by virtue of the fact that you are a certain age. And I think that’s really doing women and birthing people and their babies a disservice by applying these labels. So my advice to the system would be really being mindful about applying labels and biases onto the care that’s being provided to birthing people.
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- Advice for Policymakers – JulieJulie offered this perspective:
- Advice for Health Care Providers – Julie (clip 2)Julie advocates for less medicalized approaches to birth.
- Advice for Health Care Providers – JulieJulie advises giving women information at the appropriate times, when they can absorb it.
- Coping with Perinatal Mental Health – JulieJulie could not use her usual method of managing stress because of a birth injury.
- Gaps in Health Care System – JulieJulie advocates a whole-person approach to the pregnancy journey.
- Seeking Help and Getting Diagnosis – JulieDespite having clearly stated that she was not feeling well, Julie still had to wait weeks before getting support.
- Relationships – JulieJulie's husband did not know what to do or how to navigate the health care system to get help.
- Support from Family and Friends – JulieA friend of Julie recognized the red flags and helped to get the support she needed.
- Managing Personal Challenges with Sleeping and Eating – JulieLooking back, Julie realizes how a chronic lack of sleep spiraled into heightened anxiety.
- Managing New Routines – JulieGoing from a successful working life to being with her child every day has challenged Julie to expand her skillset.