The ability and process of making decisions begins when we are born. For a period of our childhood we are encouraged to reason things out and make decisions. As we age more and more rules, laws, policies and regulations guide and shape our decisions. Mostly the rules are made for good reasons. Well, they are good reasons for somebody. When it comes to birth, at least in a hospital, we feel there are rules that we should not break. We do not want to upset the staff or go against “policy”. We are vulnerable, and we are about to bring forth from our womb our tiny vulnerable human. We want the staff to like us and take care of us. So aside from knowing your options and rights before you go into labor, how can you politely deal with on the spot decisions during your labor? I recommend the B.R.A.I.N. method. Using BRAIN allows you to get the information, and time, you need to make an informed decision. Here are the specifics: B- What are the benefits of the proposed intervention/procedure? R- What are the risks of the proposed intervention/procedure? A- Alternatives, are there any? How do the alternatives compare in the benefit/risk analysis? I- Intuition. What does your gut/spidey sense/knee-jerk reaction tell you? N- What if you were to do nothing at this time? Or never? So I challenge you to use BRAIN the next time you go to buy vegetables or bread or meat. Which one is more healthy, which one will take more time to prepare, what could I get instead, what DO I feel like eating, what if I wait and buy groceries tomorrow? New skills take practice. Practice BRAIN as your guess date approaches, so that during labor it will be second nature. |
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Anne JungeWife, mother of two, childbirth educator and birth doula! I love guiding families to their best birth story! Archives
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