A Father's Day Wish

A guest post, by Jarad Snyder

In a perfect world I want one wish on Father’s Day.   Of course this wish can’t be something crazy like money or super hero abilities (that one’s for a certain 3 year old.)  I’m talking about something reasonable, feasible, and needed in this country.  While my Father's Day wish could probably have a million uses, this father is going to tip his hat to the mothers in this world.  My wish is that every expectant woman in the United States would receive the highest level of honest, professional maternity care.

Is it too much to ask that your care provider tells you the truth?  You would think that anything to do with a precious, innocent baby would be as honest as it gets, but unfortunately too many families have to deal with the absence of truth.  Again, we’re talking about mothers and babies who crave the truth, yet receive half-truths and even the avoidance of truth.  Since when is it wrong to tell a client or patient that you don’t know all the answers, or that a given situation is outside of your expertise?  When is it okay to delay the transfer of care for the good of a perceived belief?  When is it acceptable for a care giver to lie about events that took place to protect him or herself?  

Whether it’s the first month of pregnancy or the ninth hour of labor, every woman and baby deserves the truth.  They don’t need an ego following a blind philosophy, or an over confident roll of the dice.  It’s fairly simple, you either know what you're doing or you don’t. Being trapped in a dishonest care model is almost impossible to escape.  This is because you’re trusting people whose interests you really don’t understand.  Are they interested in what is truly best for babies, or what’s best for advancing a cause and adhering to established philosophy?  Can and do they recognize the gamble they’re taking with risk?  All the “noise” surrounding maternity care should start with honesty.  It’s pretty simple that what’s best for moms and babies is the truth.  

Now that you know my wish, we should ask every expectant mother what her wish is for her upcoming birth.  Though you might find more "noise" in these wishes, I can guarantee that at its core, rests the image of bringing a healthy baby home.  Any care provider selling an image outside of this one, or practicing in a way that doesn’t do everything  possible to ensure safe, honest care, can’t be trusted and should find a new line of work.