I consider myself a fortunate man, in many ways. One of life’s great (and recurring) gifts to me has been to become aware of what I do not know. And that is a lot, leaving me still so much space to discover and grow, no matter where I am on my journey.
As a physician I was trained to “read” the patient, which ultimately made me believe that I “know” the patient. How wrong could I be..?!
Did you know that most medical textbooks about Motherhood (from pre-conception up to and including the breast feeding time) used to be written by men? Quite interesting, if only for the two facts that they never had any of the experiences they wrote about and that they were in fact banned from even witnessing the delivery event for centuries. No wonder then that many of our societal beliefs about pregnancy are so wrong.
The good news is that there is a growing awareness, at least on both sides of the Atlantic, about these gaps in knowledge. That awareness is great because it is the conditional step to start filling those gaps.
The European Institute for Women’s Health has just released a milestone White Paper about one specific issue that is of growing societal importance and personal relevance in pregnancy. I wholeheartedly encourage you to read it, increase your awareness and also become inspired by the call.
http://eurohealth.ie/safe-use-of-medicines-during-pregnancy-and-lactation/