Trish: [00:00:00] My name is Trish Ware and I am obsessed with all things pregnancy and birth and helping you to navigate with the practical and the magical seasons of this journey called motherhood. I'm an all day coffee sipping mama of seven. I've had the amazing privilege of delivering many babies in my 15 plus year career as a labor and delivery nurse and as a mama of seven.

I'm here to help you take the guesswork out of childbirth, so you can make the choices that are right for you and your baby. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom of the show notes.

Okay, so this is one of my most favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite Topics, [00:01:00] and we're going to be talking about your rights during labor, but this really also applies to during your pregnancy. During your motherhood journey at the pediatrician's office. It applies to all of it. And this is going to be about a 15 minute topic.

So stick around, okay? Thank you Year 9x1 for telling me you can hear. If you're joining me, tell me how far along you are. What number baby? tell me anything fun. Hi from the Philippines. I went to the Philippines with Grayson when he was a baby. So I love it. Okay. So we're going to talk about this because so many women do not realize the full scope of their rights during labor.

And it's, it's just insanity to me because you guys have You have so much, [00:02:00] you have so much power that you don't fully utilize. And so understanding your rights during labor can lead to a more confident, empowered birth. Yay, someone's here learning from the future. Hi, Ms. Jenny, 36 weeks, it's time for your labor bat signal, girl.

Okay. So the first thing we're going to talk about, let me, let me flip these slides, moving you guys over here.

So the first thing we're going to talk about is your right to informed. And for my postpartum moms who are listening in, I want you to know that this works for you as well, not just during birth. I am so passionate about women understanding how powerful their voice is. And [00:03:00] I love that Yogan Sherry just shared it with a friend.

You get brownie points. You guys share this live because this is so important. The Time for Women To just sit quietly and be meek and be told what to do is over. We're saying no more to that. Because you have a right, and informed consent is so much more than, um, than what maybe you've been led to it, to to believe, right?

It's more than just, Oh, here's what we're going to do. And we're going to do it now. Okay. Lay down, let us do it. Informed consent. Thank you, April. Informed consent is so much more, and it's a critical part of your care, specifically during labor, childbirth, and your baby's Uh, pediatrician visits, it means that you as the patient and as the mother [00:04:00] have a right to be fully informed.

Fully informed. That means you're not left wondering, you're, you're not still confused and like, okay, well they're saying that it's best so, you know, I should just go ahead and do it. No, it means you've been fully informed. informed about any medical intervention, any procedure, any treatment, and then you are allowed to make a voluntary, a voluntary decision about whether or not you say yes or no, accepting or declining.

The information given to you should be clear. It should be complete, thorough information, not left wanting. It should include why your provider, why your nurse, why the doctor, why the [00:05:00] midwife is recommending what they're recommending, what it involves. If they do it, here's the kicker, you guys. It should involve the risks and the benefits, and then they need to cover any alternatives, including the option of doing nothing, just waiting.

And understanding, like, it's so important that you fully understand what information is being given. And if you have to ask five million questions, Girl, ask 5 million questions because you have a right to ask your doctor, ask your nurse, your care provider to explain all the things until they make all the sense to you.

Okay, so again, you have a right to ask for a thorough Explanation. And here's the most important part of informed decision, you [00:06:00] know, informed decision. The most important part is that once you have all the information, you get to accept or decline, and it must be your choice.

Okay, listen to me, and I'm going to put this I'm going to put this in the chat, free of any pressure, free of any pressure or coercion, gaslighting, subtle threats, because it is your body. And I want you guys to comment to me right now. It is my body. Comment down below. It's my body. I want to see it. Okay.

Comment to me. It is my body. My body, my baby.[00:07:00]

I want to see that in your chat. My body, my baby.

Yes, my body, my baby. Yes, yes, SpiceGal, Esme, LaborNurseMama, KeepPretty, yes, MyBody, Deb, I love it. Oh my gosh, you guys, yes, this is so powerful. Informed consent is key when it comes to all the things we're going to talk about today. So we're going to talk about IVs, we're going to talk about cervical exams.

We're going to talk about pushing, and we're going to talk about your environment. So, the very first thing we said was you have a right to consent or to refuse, correct? And you guys are [00:08:00] all in agreement with me. I had a student who, during her pregnancy, was discussing her birth plan with her provider.

And her provider was basically telling her she had no choice in those things. And so she said, see ya. And she ended up having the most beautiful delivery with a provider that respected her. So here are a few common interventions that people think are, you know, are ones that they can't refuse, but they are.

You're allowed, okay? So, and I'm going to tell you this, this is the most important thing that I'm going to say to you guys, is here you go, you can't, I'm going to type it in the chat so you can write it down, you can refuse anything you want, okay? But should you? All right? And the way that you answer that question is by being [00:09:00] educated and understanding the rationale, the necessity of each of these interventions.

Because if you don't understand when and why it's appropriate, you're going to find yourself Frozen and not able to make a decision, and you're going to let everybody else make all the decisions for you, which is why I say all the time, if you don't know your options, you don't have any. So the first one we're going to talk about and we're just going to go over these briefly because the same thing remains for everything You can refuse anything But should you?

You have to know when it's appropriate and when it's not appropriate or it's being used out of convenience for someone other than you. If you want an intervention and it's convenient for you, more power to you. That is also your right. So when we talk about IV fluids. Do you have to have IV fluids? They are 100 percent standard of care. Alright, [00:10:00] 100 percent standard care. But, Are they always necessary for a low risk mom? A low risk baby? No, they're not. Here's the truth about it. And they will tell you, well, you have to have one just in case.

No, we are not doing stuff. I almost swore. I can't swear. We are not doing stuff just in case people, we are doing stuff based on your situation. So if you are a low risk pregnancy, Low risk pregnancy. You do not have to have an IV. Your nurse, if you have to have, if you have an emergency, your nurse can put one in quickly or someone else can.

We do it all the time when someone comes in in an emergent situation, we get an IV in really quick. So if you're not high risk, you don't need one. If you are high risk, you may be able to have what we call a [00:11:00] HEPLOC, where we're not running fluids, but we have it there. The next one that's really common, everyone asks me about is, I'm not allowed to eat during labor.

Most hospitals will restrict your eating, but the evidence shows that eating is safe for most women. Again, this, this also will depend on your risk level, but for most of you, it's absolutely okay to eat. I always tell my patients like, what I don't know won't kill me, right? The next one would be pushing on your back.

You have the right to choose alternative pushing positions that are more effective and comfortable for you. You do not have to have your legs up in the stirrups. Jenny said she's gonna be at fearless birth unless she's in labor. I'm not sure which to hope for, Jenny. You have the freedom to move. Staying in bed is, a lot of times, is suggested because it's convenient for the staff.

Like, maybe your nurse can't keep the baby on the monitor. It's not about her. She can chase the [00:12:00] baby. If you have to be on the monitor, which is another one that you have a right, that you may not need the monitor on 24 7, you could do intermittent or a wireless. The other big one is cervical exams. When, you know, they used to be done every two hours, and God help us all and all of our vaginas.

But several hospitals still do them every two hours, and it's ridiculous. Congratulations, Erica! 24 weeks! I hope you come to Fearless Birth Experience. Here's the thing. Cervical exams are really kind of stupid, in my opinion. They're only really needed if you're being induced and we need to titrate the medication, or you come in, we're not sure you're in labor, and we need to check to see if you're in labor because the real, you know, proof of labor is your cervix is changing, not just dilation, but in all different ways.

But you can refuse them altogether. You can also limit the [00:13:00] number of exams, and I'm going to talk more about that, and I talk more about that inside my private community. Okay, so check in with you guys. I want you guys to know. Do you know what your rights are in terms of interventions? Have you even thought about informed consent and what role it plays in your birth?

And then also, are you prepared to say yes or no based on knowing what is right for you and your baby? If you're not, you need to jump into my birth classes. You guys can join my classes by commenting class or going to labor nurse mama dot com forward slash the word calm C A L M. Okay, the next thing, you have a right to choose who's in your birth room.

And this goes all the way from your mother in law to your labor nurse. One of the things [00:14:00] I do inside my birth classes is I teach my students how to navigate this because it can be very uncomfortable to fire your labor nurse. It can be very uncomfortable to fire your provider. But the truth of the matter is.

During your labor, if you are being bullied, if you're not being supported, if you're being talked down to or gaslit or any of those things, you have a right to say enough. No. Go out. Out of my room. You have a right to fire your, your doctor and your nurse. And I teach you guys how to do that the right way.

You want to maintain, you know, common cur cur courtesies, but your birth team should be supporting your decisions. Oops, I didn't change the slide. Your birth team should be choosing, like supporting you, supporting your decisions, respecting your birth plan, respecting you as a person. Respecting you as the birth queen that you are.

I want you guys. You've already said my body my [00:15:00] baby Now I want you to say I am a birth queen. I want you to claim that to claim that right now Did you know that having the right support team in your labor room can reduce the likelihood? of a c section by 25

I had You know, and this goes all the way down to your partner being educated as fully as you. This is why if you join my birth classes, I give you my birth coach class for free, because I want your partner to be able to support you fully, to understand your why, to understand the reasoning, to know the interventions, and to know how to support you best.

Because during labor, your main job is to labor, not to fight. So I want you guys to ask these questions to yourself and you guys can come back and watch this and write your questions down But have you chosen a team that fully supports you and does [00:16:00] your team? Does your team? Understand your birth plan and I'm gonna type this in the chat, too.

Does your team? Understand your birth plan so that they can support you in the delivery room I sure hope so. Okay, the next thing we're going to talk about is your, and we've talked about some of them, but your right to decline or to accept routine procedures. Just because they're routine for the hospital does not mean that you have to say yes to them.

This is like, I teach my students when they get to the hospital, you do not have to lay down in the bed. They can do your assessment. They can do your interview questions all while you're standing. There might be a few seconds, few minutes that you might need to lay down for them. But other than that, you can stand up.

And I have some of my students who never even get into the bed. You just, you have [00:17:00] to be educated. You have to understand the procedures. You have to understand what's necessary and when you can opt for alternatives or flat out say no. I, I had my student, Liz, who, if you guys have heard her birth story, she never once got in the hospital bed, not once, with her last two babies.

So are you confident in discussing these things? Are you confident in saying no? Are you confident in, in your rights and having the birth that aligns with your preferences? Because yours are the most important. I don't care what degree someone else has. Okay, another thing that we need to talk about is your right to a comfortable birth environment.

You have the right to create a birth environment that makes you feel safe, calm, and empowered. And we talked about this the other day, or a couple weeks ago, that when you feel safe and you feel calm, and we're going to talk about this on class [00:18:00] one during fearless birth experience, and how it works with your body and your incredible endorphins and hormones to help your labor go faster and smoother.

From dimming the lights to using essential oils, all of that can shape your labor experience dramatically and reduce your stress. When you do that, when you, when you create the environment that makes you feel calm and safe, and what makes, you know, Veronica feel calm and safe may not be the same as Erica or Jenny or Aspen.

But it's important for you that you create the environment that makes you feel safe, which is also going to empower you to speak up. To be bold and to labor like the queen that you are. So when we're talking about all of this, this is something I go into really hardcore during fearless birth experience.

100%. Want you guys to come right now, comment fearless, [00:19:00] or go to labor nurse mama.com/fearless to register, and you guys can get registered and you guys can come. Every day we'll have a mini little birth class every evening.

And you'll be able to really begin the journey of being more ready, feeling more empowered, and understanding how your voice Your voice is the most powerful voice in the labor room. Hey mama, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the birth experience with labor nurse mama. As always, please leave a review.

Let us know what we're doing well and what you want to hear more of. And I will see you again next Friday. Bye for now.