Your body, your baby, Your choice.

You just can't quite put your finger on it.

.

There is " need" to hear your babies heart beating at this specific moment, even though you felt baby alive and kicking just moments ago.

There is a "need" to put their fingers in your vagina even though this is the last thing you want.

"There is a need for you to be lying in the bed attached to a continuous Fetal Monitor (even though there are no proven benefits to this!) when your body is saying it wants to move.

I've heard these needs before.

And do you know what I want to share with you now?

That even in birth : your body is your body! It is your own, YOU GET TO CHOOSE.

I want to say that again, Your midwife, your doctor, your OB, your doula- they are all hired by you! Yes they might have studied more than you.....

but ultimately YOUR BODY AND YOUR BABY ARE YOURS. You get to choose in each moment.

You can say no to someone putting their fingers in your vagina in labour, just as you can say no to someone doing that while you are not in labour.

There are other ways to tell how far along you are.

There is choice in each moment and birth often isn't in a hurry- there is a moment to say

"Hey, I just need time to think about what you have offered me, give me five minutes please" before you make your decision.

Your body, your baby, your choice.