All tagged decision making

Considering Home

“Stepping out your front door is the first intervention in birth.” ~ Unknown

I imagine that folks may have strong reactions to that statement. Perhaps it feels confronting, or perhaps it feels obvious.

How it feels to you will depend a lot on the stories you’ve heard about birth your whole life.

The stories your parents told, your grandparents told, the stories you saw on tv or in movies, the stories your friends have told, what you’ve read on the internet or heard in podcasts, and the stories your maternity care provider has taken in and in return shares with you. All of these stories combine to create the story you personally believe about birth – about what makes it safe, or not safe, about what makes a birth “good” or “bad”.

Risk Doesn't Have To Be a Four Letter Word

We’re a risk averse culture.

The Oxford dictionary defines risk averse as "not willing to do something if it is possible that something bad could happen as a result". I mean *waves vaguely at the universe* that would include everything, really.

Many of us make decisions in this way - we consider the worst possible outcome and try to make choices to avoid that outcome. Which makes sense.

But it also traps us in a hyper-vigilant, fear-full place, expending all of our energy trying to maintain the illusion of control, dodging potential unwanted outcomes, and never working towards or considering those things we do want. Frankly, it’s exhausting.

BOOK REVIEW Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You

A few months ago, I read the book Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You by Jerome Groopman, MD and Pamela Hartzband, MD. The book covers both internal and external factors that influence our medical decision making while also diving into some of the cognitive shortcuts humans use to make those decisions (SPOILER ALERT: while cognitive shortcuts often help us make quick decisions, they don’t always help us make good decisions).