I met a mom-to-be the other day who reminded me that I am surrounded by supportive mothers whose beliefs are aligned like mine. I know several moms who are all for breastfeeding for as long as reasonable, or even possible. Moms who learned every detail about their pregnancies in order to make informed decisions. Moms who forged ahead against their doctor's wishes or even insurance company's wishes in order to obtain what was best for them or their baby. Moms who opted for alternatives to conventional wisdom and practices. The mom-to-be that I met was about as hands off as one could get. She did not feel the need to take a birth preparation class other than what the hospital offered (at or after 36 weeks), she was all for the epidural and painkillers, but didn't want a c-section unless it was really needed. Her doctor is concerned the baby may be too large in proportion to her body size (she's not petite and her belly isn't enormous at this point) so talks about considering a c-section have already come up. She plans to go back to work after 8 weeks maternity leave.

Scary thing is- she's so not alone. There are millions of other moms-to-be who are following closely to her path right now. They blindly go into labor and motherhood relying on doctor instruction and basic notions of the upcoming transition into being a mom. They don't question their doctor's advice and see no need for birthing classes since that's all taken care of by the hospital.

I'm not going to judge these women. They are following a system developed by the medical industry that is in place to relieve mothers of such stresses and worries. But I do have a different drum I beat to and enjoy the company of other moms who have their own drums as well. I am ever so grateful to be surrounded by the moms that I have befriended in the last 2 years. :-)

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