Remember how I had such conviction about refusing the Rhogam shot? How it represented my stand against the status quo of medical intervention into pregnancy? Yeah. Well.
At my 31 week prenatal visit at the birth center, the midwife recommended that I get the shot. Again I heard about the accidents that can happen and how it's best just to be safe. I admit that because it was a midwife telling me this, it felt far less like a conspiracy against the free will of pregnant ladies everywhere. That, and she promised there was no mercury in the shot and no side effects to either me or baby. So, I relented and let them stick me.
Maybe this is not about conviction, exactly (at least I'd like to think that, to save a little face after having been on my soapbox about it...). Maybe it's more about making the best choice you can with the information you have, and being lenient with yourself when the information and the choice evolves.
I met another pregnant lady the other day who was 37 weeks with her first, a boy. We covered the basics: "Are you going to circumcise?" she asked.
"No. You?" I responded.
"Arrrghhhh.... we're 50-50!" she said, feigning anguish but genuinely conflicted. "This is the hardest choice we've had to make," she said, "has anything felt that way to you?"
I thought of the Rhogam shot -- oh mothers! entrusted with the care of your infants' delicate bodies from even before they enter the world! -- but spared her the story.
I gave her my reasons for letting our boy keep all his parts, and she said she was envious of my conviction. Ha! Well, we are standing firm on that point.
I gave her my reasons for letting our boy keep all his parts, and she said she was envious of my conviction. Ha! Well, we are standing firm on that point.
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