Yes. The crisis isn’t a lack of expert advice, but the loss of our own inner authority. When fear is commodified, intuition is pathologised, and uncertainty is treated as a disorder, we don’t just lose confidence, we lose the ability to think and act for ourselves.
Excellent essay. It's so hard to know when to worry about health, and some doctors and companies do prey on that. I was finally talked into a colonoscopy in a week, and I just can't decide whether to do it.
Please continue bringing awareness to the important subject of pregnancy and birth. This is its own insane culture of fear and distrust that literally affects everyone who births in the hospital system today, which is the majority of births. And since everyone is born from a woman it has the potential to impact everyone being born, positively or negatively. It gets worse every year. From IVF to psych drugs during pregnancy to birthing numb and drugged with unnecessary inductions and surgical births based on refuted evidence (look at the crap that are the term breach and arrive trials) and births that often involve coercion obstetrical violence and sexual assault. Informed consent does not exist in obstetrics maternal fetal medicine or pediatrics. How could a woman or baby possibly be okay after THAT?! The system is set up that way to make us weak and scared and feed into keep the big machines turning (post partum depression treatment give to mom AT THE vaxatrician visits for baby is a perfect example). There is another way. By birthing at home and staying out of the system we can start to take it all back. By trusting our bodies and our babies we can heal and give them and ourselves a chance. It’s possible. A start to life and motherhood without fear! Even if you’re old have twins or a breech baby or otherwise “high risk”.. There was a triplet home birth last year!!! Check it out on IG. Impossible and unheard of nowadays in the medical system. Keep the discussion going, this is literally the beginning of it all. Please interview Dr. Stu Fischbein, Dr. Nathan Riley and Yolande Norris-Clark on the podcast.
There is this constant assumption by most people that the first thing you should if if you are struggling mentally (or if you have a child with problems) is contact professionals/mental health services. Unfortunately that is the last thing you should do
I love your writing Doctor! I just followed your podcasts, but if you ever write a book, even a collection of these essays, please let us know on here!
What an amazing piece. I felt sick reading the part about "Sarah" and how being told her normal feelings of overwhelm could harm her baby was ACTUALLY what was making her depressed. It reminds me SO MUCH of my grief clients who are told they are clinically depressed, when in 99% off cases, their normal grief and sadness makes people uncomfortable, and they're told to suppress it so much that THAT is what leads to depression...
I went though something very similar after the birth of my first child. I was very anxious, not sleeping and not coping. We were admitted to a clinic which (supposedly) specialises in helping mothers and babies, especially with sleep training. I spent a week there, during which time I was consistently prevented from going to my baby when he was screaming.
One day, a doctor watched us together for less than ten minutes, then wrote a report that stated my baby hadn't properly bonded to me. I was devastated, and felt like a failure, as well as being traumatised by leaving my baby to scream for what felt like hours at a time. Everyone told me how lucky I was to be getting "the best treatment" at this highly lauded clinic. I left feeling much worse and struggled with depression over the following year. My weight dropped to 47kg and my milk dried up. The GP wanted to put me on anti- depressants. Yes, the 'experts' pretty much destroyed my confidence in my ability to mother.
AMEN Dr Mcfillin. So many make decisions based on fear and worry. I see this all the time. When I try to help these folks be "here" in the present as opposed to worrying about what might happen in the future- they think I don't care what is happening in the world. I care so much that I want to make sure that my actions are from a place on calm/caring not anger/fear. Anyway, great post as ususal
I've been thinking about this a lot; constantly being attacked with a barrage of fear mongering. Everything's toxic, everything causes cancer, we're all going to die -- uhh, yeah... excellent article as always, thank you.
Oh my goodness, I can’t imagine dealing with this level of excessive advice/monitoring/tracking with a newborn! I was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression 26 years ago after having my first son at age 35. I had no natural instincts to trust - I’d never babysat, hadn’t even changed a diaper until I had my own baby. No parents to help out and husband wasn’t much better. Was on SSRIs for over 20 years. I wish I’d known better!
I realize this is not the point but I am sick thinking about someone trying to sleep train a newborn.
Yes. The crisis isn’t a lack of expert advice, but the loss of our own inner authority. When fear is commodified, intuition is pathologised, and uncertainty is treated as a disorder, we don’t just lose confidence, we lose the ability to think and act for ourselves.
Excellent essay. It's so hard to know when to worry about health, and some doctors and companies do prey on that. I was finally talked into a colonoscopy in a week, and I just can't decide whether to do it.
Please continue bringing awareness to the important subject of pregnancy and birth. This is its own insane culture of fear and distrust that literally affects everyone who births in the hospital system today, which is the majority of births. And since everyone is born from a woman it has the potential to impact everyone being born, positively or negatively. It gets worse every year. From IVF to psych drugs during pregnancy to birthing numb and drugged with unnecessary inductions and surgical births based on refuted evidence (look at the crap that are the term breach and arrive trials) and births that often involve coercion obstetrical violence and sexual assault. Informed consent does not exist in obstetrics maternal fetal medicine or pediatrics. How could a woman or baby possibly be okay after THAT?! The system is set up that way to make us weak and scared and feed into keep the big machines turning (post partum depression treatment give to mom AT THE vaxatrician visits for baby is a perfect example). There is another way. By birthing at home and staying out of the system we can start to take it all back. By trusting our bodies and our babies we can heal and give them and ourselves a chance. It’s possible. A start to life and motherhood without fear! Even if you’re old have twins or a breech baby or otherwise “high risk”.. There was a triplet home birth last year!!! Check it out on IG. Impossible and unheard of nowadays in the medical system. Keep the discussion going, this is literally the beginning of it all. Please interview Dr. Stu Fischbein, Dr. Nathan Riley and Yolande Norris-Clark on the podcast.
There is this constant assumption by most people that the first thing you should if if you are struggling mentally (or if you have a child with problems) is contact professionals/mental health services. Unfortunately that is the last thing you should do
I love your writing Doctor! I just followed your podcasts, but if you ever write a book, even a collection of these essays, please let us know on here!
What an amazing piece. I felt sick reading the part about "Sarah" and how being told her normal feelings of overwhelm could harm her baby was ACTUALLY what was making her depressed. It reminds me SO MUCH of my grief clients who are told they are clinically depressed, when in 99% off cases, their normal grief and sadness makes people uncomfortable, and they're told to suppress it so much that THAT is what leads to depression...
I went though something very similar after the birth of my first child. I was very anxious, not sleeping and not coping. We were admitted to a clinic which (supposedly) specialises in helping mothers and babies, especially with sleep training. I spent a week there, during which time I was consistently prevented from going to my baby when he was screaming.
One day, a doctor watched us together for less than ten minutes, then wrote a report that stated my baby hadn't properly bonded to me. I was devastated, and felt like a failure, as well as being traumatised by leaving my baby to scream for what felt like hours at a time. Everyone told me how lucky I was to be getting "the best treatment" at this highly lauded clinic. I left feeling much worse and struggled with depression over the following year. My weight dropped to 47kg and my milk dried up. The GP wanted to put me on anti- depressants. Yes, the 'experts' pretty much destroyed my confidence in my ability to mother.
AMEN Dr Mcfillin. So many make decisions based on fear and worry. I see this all the time. When I try to help these folks be "here" in the present as opposed to worrying about what might happen in the future- they think I don't care what is happening in the world. I care so much that I want to make sure that my actions are from a place on calm/caring not anger/fear. Anyway, great post as ususal
I've been thinking about this a lot; constantly being attacked with a barrage of fear mongering. Everything's toxic, everything causes cancer, we're all going to die -- uhh, yeah... excellent article as always, thank you.
Oh my goodness, I can’t imagine dealing with this level of excessive advice/monitoring/tracking with a newborn! I was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression 26 years ago after having my first son at age 35. I had no natural instincts to trust - I’d never babysat, hadn’t even changed a diaper until I had my own baby. No parents to help out and husband wasn’t much better. Was on SSRIs for over 20 years. I wish I’d known better!
Wonderful essay, Dr. McFillin. I plan to send it out to a number of people, including my children.
Excellent ❤️
Great article doc.
Great topic and insight. Could be a book.
Yes! Thanks for writing this.