WHO IS THIS SITE FOR?
This site is for teenage or young pregnant women who have decided to give birth to their child, and are looking to educate themselves about giving birth.
WHY THIS SITE?
I felt the need to create this website because the majority of information on the internet related to teenage pregnancy is negative.
If you google search ¨teenage birth¨ ¨teenage pregnancy¨ ¨young and pregnant¨ or any related keywords, your search results in negative statistics, critiques of television shows and celebrities glamorizing teenage pregnancy, and a list of horrible reasons for teenage pregnancies. In addition, a recent study (James, 2012) found that many pregnant teenagers felt judged and uncared for in their maternity care facilities. The reality, however, is that there are young pregnant women, many of whom have decided to carry their pregnancies to full term. These young women have made a brave decision, and now need information: good, positive, intelligent, objective, critical information....to learn about birth, their bodies, their babies, and how to embrace this sacred time in their lives. Although all information on birth is relevant to young mothers, I found in internet forums that many young pregnant women wanted information specific to them. I have tried to make this relevant to younger pregnant women by encouraging critical thinking about all issues, emphasizing that every women has the right to choose how her birth process goes, and providing links to online resources specifically geared to/created by young women. |
WHERE TO START
Start with an open mind.
The goal of this site is not to persuade you that one type of birth is the best. Start by clicking on the Birth Flow Chart, which is an interesting visual way to start to understand the various pathways to different birth outcomes. Then, explore the pages that give information on different types of birth and birth interventions, such as epidurals and inductions. For new, updated information, check out the blog. The goal of this site is to help you on your journey to collecting the information that will empower you, the information that will help deprogram the societal messages that birth is to be feared, and to help you embrace one of your first challenges in motherhood with strength, wisdom and courage. WHO AM I, AND WHY WOULD I BOTHER?
My name is Devon Goodwin, and I am the mother of a healthy, happy 3 year old. I first published this site in December, 2012. I currently live in Calgary, Canada, although I gave birth in the Canary Islands, Spain.
I was very lucky in my pregnancy and birth experience. A lot of positive information, intuition, and luck helped me along the way. I am a critical thinker, and realize that there are no easy answers when it comes to birth. My own birth experience was completely natural, by good fortune (and not by my own fortitude!). Specifically, though I asked for an epidural, there were none available in the small hospital I was in. I gave birth about 30 minutes later, and now understand that my body had everything under control. Although my experience with natural birth has influenced my thinking, I also have friends who have had medically intervened births, and were thrilled with them. I think every women needs to consider the information and her own circumstances...we are all unique. The stories I hate, however, are the ones where women are not happy...where they did not understand what was going on with their body, where they did not understand what happens to the body when certain measures are implemented in the hospital. I have heard stories of women who have felt violated by their birth experience, and I want to contribute my part to ensure that happens less often. In particular, I think that there is a lack of good information for young and teenage pregnant women, so I am trying to reach out and help empower them to own their own experience! |