Because history left unaddressed becomes the present

[maynardsong]

Mods, can we have tags for birth, reproductive justice, and/or midwifery? Also, I thought this was incredibly on-point, and does a fantastic job addressing the racism and classism behind "choosing" a "natural" birth. I actually think this can be extended to breastfeeding and living eco-friendly.This was a quote from my eighth grade history class,

Comments

TLDR

[maynardsong]

I mean, it's a fact that in the US hospital system, unnecessary interventions are common, and pose their own set of risks. This needs to change. Fact. Infant formula *is* nutritionally inferior to human milk. It's the next best thing when breast milk isn't an option, but it is absolutely false to claim that the two are in any way "equal". They're not. Fact. There's nothing "romanticised" about the fact that pregnancy isn't inherently pathological or about the fact that "breast is best". Now how people go about addressing that...that's the question.
And likewise, with other "natural" movements, there is no denying that it's a good thing to eat whole foods, and locally. These are GOOD THINGS. I'm not going to get behind a defense of high fructose corn syrup, nor will I ever get behind Hanna Rosin's "Case Against Breastfeeding" article, in the name of feminism or fighting racism or classism. The problem is that there's privilege wank among the people who do them, and these people are often clueless about the foremothers of WOC did exactly these things (whether it's refraining from unnecessary interventions giving birth, or breastfeeding, or eating local) back when there was nothing romantic about it and doing the opposite was the status symbol.
TL;DR. I have a lot of feelings.

Re: TLDR

[maynardsong]

edit: Unnecessary interventions are common and pose their own sets of risk is a fact. That it needs to change is my opinion.

Re: TLDR

[seasontoseason]

i agree.