How to Advocate for Yourself During Pregnancy & Postpartum: 4 Essential Tips
Let’s face it, advocating for yourself in a health care setting can be challenging whether you are pregnant or not. If you’re a woman and you feel your health concerns often aren’t taken as seriously as the men in your world’s often are, it’s not just you.
When you’re TTC, Pregnant or Postpartum, you’ll have A LOT of contact with your doctor. You’ll also have All. The. Feelings. All. The. Time. And, likely, many questions, too! This makes sense. You, your body and your family are going through a lot right now.
Even if it’s not your first pregnancy since the experiences can vary so much each time. You may be feeling many new things and have tons on your mind.We believe — YOU. KNOW. YOUR. BODY. BEST. And you deserve to be seen fully, taken seriously, listened to and given the opportunity to have all of your questions answered and symptoms fully explored medically and explained in each and every one of your healthcare visits.
Here are our 4 tips for advocating for yourself in a medical setting during your pregnancy and postpartum period:
1) Keep Notes; Use the “Notes” on your phone to keep an ongoing list of all of the questions you have for your doctor as they arise. You can also include a play by play of any symptoms you experience that you think may be out of the ordinary between visits here. This way you have everything in one, easy to find place when you arrive at the doctor.
You can be an excellent historian of how your body was throughout the time between visits and make sure you don’t leave your appointment realizing you forgot to ask one more question.
2) Use the Buddy System; Bring someone you love and trust, who makes you feel comfortable with you to the appointment. Maybe this is your partner, maybe it’s a close friend or family member, but having this person in the room with you will be a game changer.
They will be a second pair of ears so that when the doctor answers the questions you wrote down before your visit you’ll have another person to help you remember what they said (maybe even jot them down for you) and interpret the info after your visit. This person may also ask helpful follow up questions that prove to be extremely helpful.
Additionally, having the support in the room with you may help you feel safer and more confident to be bold in receiving your care than you would be alone.
3) Hire a Doula; Doulas work alongside medical professionals and provide support for pregnant and postpartum people. This support comes in the form of:
Physical- in person pre-delivery visits, sometimes education and hands on assistance with breastfeeding, in person or virtual support and advocacy throughout your labor and delivery, etc.
Emotional- your doula has been through the experience of supporting several folks going through labor and delivery before, they are here for you to help ease any fears or anxieties you may have as well as to be your number one advisor and cheerleader to get you through all of the events of your pregnancy, delivery and transition into your life with a newborn.
Educational- many doulas are available to you to answer any and all questions that come up along your pregnancy journey. They will have a vast array of knowledge on a large amount of topics that relate to your experience throughout pregnancy - from nutrition advice, advice as to how to handle any confusing or concerning symptoms and many other things in between. Your doula can be an AMAZING resource to lean on in between doctors visits. They often will be in touch more frequently and more available to you than your doctor may be as well.
4) When in doubt - speak up! We said it once, and we’ll say it again…. You. Know. Your. Body. Best. In case you need it, this is your explicit permission to be the squeaky wheel. If you have to email, call, show up and asked to be squeezed in, return to the emergency department twice, four times or twelve times…
If you feel that something is not right in your body and it continues or returns to feeling that way even after you’ve been cleared by a doctor, listen to your gut and ALWAYS continue to seek care for yourself and your baby.
Perhaps everything is okay and what you are feeling is nothing to worry about. But, on the off chance that something has changed, you will be SO much happier to have the peace of mind that you had yourself checked before there is an emergency. Your gut is a powerful tool that we’ll always encourage you to follow!
One more thought: Consider seeing a midwife / choosing a midwifery practice rather than a traditional OBGYN office. In our conversations with folks who work with midwives in all settings, their experiences have been that midwives tend to provide care with a much more personal, down to earth approach.
A visit to a midwifery is often longer in duration than one to a Dr.’s office and since midwives are focused on a more holistic approach to care, they tend to cover many more bases and have more in depth conversations when addressing all of your questions and concerns. While we absolutely realize this may not be the approach for everyone, we definitely recommend looking into this as an option for care.
We know how hard it can be to navigate these spaces, and we also know how strong YOU are! If there’s ever any way we can help by answering a movement related question or providing a resource of any kind, don’t hesitate to reach out!
We’ve got your back!
This article was written by Jenny, founder/owner of Freya Movement and certified Birth Doula.
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