Obstetric Violence
“I was in excruciating pain the entire time. It left me in extreme pain, I was in agony, when she finally stopped, she took a deep breath and immediately had the conversation with me that it doesn’t seem as if I’m moving along and because the baby showed distress recently, I cannot remember whether this was before the exam or after. After her exam I felt violated, i felt dirty, I felt like I was reliving a rape I had experienced in the past and all the emotions that came with it, I was in pain and next thing I know I hear the doctor say out loud to the nurse “no she’s just not moving along, I EVEN tried to manually break her water and it wouldn’t budge at all, and I tried hard!’“
Read MoreV's Story - Sault Area Hospital - Sault Ste Marie, Ontario
“Before my discharge from the hospital I had at least three different providers warn me that I'm at a greater risk for postpartum mood disorders because of my traumatic birth experience. It's odd to hear someone else label your birth as traumatic, especially before you realize it for yourself. Where do they think the trauma comes from? The loss of my home birth plan? The prolonged, high intervention induction? The unplanned c-section? The complicated repair with significant blood loss? While not the outcomes I'd wanted, I can make peace with those events because I had the opportunity to make the informed choices that brought me there. Surely they didn't recognize that the greatest source of trauma were the moments where I was stripped of my autonomy, otherwise they should have seized the opportunity to prevent it.“
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Read MoreI see you, mama. The midwives lied to me, too.
“Mama, I see you. In a world that glorifies midwives, you helped me feel less alone in my sorrow. You made my pain bearable. You gave me strength. However far you got in your journey, you had an impact. Like tiny drops of water that slowly eroding a rock, as more of use speak out others will have the informed consent and knowledge that we did not have. I am eternally grateful to all of you. Because the midwives lied to me, too, and I feel better now that I can see you.”
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Read MoreSmiths Falls OB - Smiths Falls, Ontario
“I was told my cervix are open and I’m going to miscarry. I left absolutely devastated, the next day I go for my ultrasound where they found a strong and healthy heart beat and baby (of course). I then continued on, receiving prenatal care from my GP until about 27ish weeks then I was sent on to the OB. My first appointment was terrible, the OB body shamed me, stated that if my BMI was to rise any higher I would not be able to deliver in this hospital and that I need to watch what I eat. I left the office in absolute hysterics.“
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Read MoreMidwife Assault - Quinte Midwives, Belleville, Ontario
“During a normally progressing labour at home I said no to a vaginal exam. The attending midwife said I could have a little more time but then she was going to perform it. After my little more time when she advanced toward me saying she was going to do the exam now I again said no and she told me I was not allowed to say no and began threatening that I wouldn't be allowed to keep birthing at home and she was going to call an ambulance to have me removed to the hospital if I kept refusing. I had chosen a home birth to stay out of the hospital due to so many women reporting having pitocin and other medical procedures done to them against their will, but now I was being threatened by this midwife in my home with the same violence I was already trying to avoid.“
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Read MoreYou Are Not Alone - Ontario
“I can't talk about my story. I look online for experiences that people have with midwives and I feel terribly alone, why are there so many glowing reviews? I feel like I'm the only one they ever treated badly.”
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