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Are women treated as "walking uteruses?"
Filed under: Just For Moms, Your Pregnancy, Health & Safety: Babies, Development/Milestones: Babies, In The News, Mommy Musts, Sex
It was nearly a half-century ago that science uncovered just how harmful drugs could be to a developing fetus. The threat--thalidomide. I don't even know what thalidomide is, save for the phrase from the Billy Joel song We Didn't Start the Fire, but my parents certainly did, as did the rest of the nation who discovered they were poisoning their unborn children by taking the drug. Today, the environment is decidedly different. We live in a world where information of all kinds is at our fingertips (whether true or not is another matter). The Internet and, frankly, women entering the working world have given us control over knowledge, specifically with what can or does happen to our bodies. We as women, and as the world, know more about conception, pregnancy and birth than we ever did before. So do our doctors. They also know what can go wrong, and seem to take every chance possible to ensure something terrible doesn't happen to an unborn child.
The result? Many women feel like they're nothing more than a "walking uterus" or some ovaries. They feel that doctors forget to treat the whole patient because they're so focused on the damage that could be done by, say, taking a certain medication, if the woman happens to be pregnant (whether she knows it or not). They consider the woman "pre-pregnant." Of course doctors are trying to save and preserve lives. They're also trying to avoid malpractice or other kinds of suits. What they might be missing out on, though, is that a woman is in control of her body. She can avoid getting pregnant if she wants to--especially in order to take a certain medication. Yes, there is the slight chance that she doesn't know she is pregnant, but that's a risk the medical profession might have to be willing to take in order to treat women patients fairly.
This past winter I got strep throat REALLY BAD. (Actually, it's ALWAYS really bad.) We had not been using protection and so there was a slight possibility I could be pregnant. I told the doctor, rather than him asking me, that it was a possibility, so he prescribed a different kind of medication for me. The point? Well, I took control of the situation instead of having someone do it for me. I was the one who did the talking, was aware of and responsible for what was going on with my body. And you know what? I was pregnant. And now I feel a whole heck of a lot better that I got different medication. But, it was my choice--the doctor didn't make any presuppositions about me (smart man, good doctor).
Pic by zimpenfish.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-30-2008 @ 9:36PM
Pavlina said...Thalidomide was for treating morning sickness
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8-31-2008 @ 12:08AM
Kellie said...honestly, this is why I choose to birth with midwives. I know not everyone has that option, but of you do, take it. You get to choose your care and most of the decision. I mean, if I told my midwife I was drinking everyday and eating a shit load of raw meat, I am sure she would have referred me out or not taken me on. But, choosing to birth with a midwife puts the power back in my hands, but still is informed of all the information out there.
Reply
9-08-2008 @ 4:53PM
george said...Let's see if I understand this POV correctly....
Woman are in control of their body, so doctors shouldn't presume to ask them about any thing that might affect actual or potential occupants of their uterus. Because "we" know more about our body than ever before....
Hmm, I'm not exactly how to square that opinion with facts. Such as the fact that when women in Colorado were asked in 2007 if they were aware that daily consumption of folic acid reduces birth defects, only 40% did.
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/pubs/FolicAcid.pdf
However, you are technically correct. Even if 6 of of 10 woman are now ignorant of that benefit, "we" do know more now than we did before: in 1998, a CDC survey found that only 5% of women were aware of those benefits.
CDC did that study because 4000 children a year were born with birth defects that could have been prevented by folic acid supplements.
If those children had somehow been given the choice between a doctor presuming their mother was ignorant of the benefit or presuming that their mother was aware of it, I think I know what their choice would have been.
So, next time you're seeing a healthcare professional and he or she takes the time to ensure that you're aware of a contraindication, instead of presuming everybody knows what you know, why not ask them first how many people they've told about it who say "thanks, I didn't know that..."?
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