If you’re pregnant and you’ve been reading books, boards and information sites, like me, you’ve probably got the wrong end of the stick about some things – such as weight. And the reason is this: having a baby in the UK is very different from having a baby in the US, and the US dominates these platforms.
Partly, this is because the NHS is unforthcoming: they don’t share information about being pregnant until you are. Their websites offer the bare minimum; their leaflets aren’t much better; they don’t answer my emails; and their advice is always to talk to your midwife. As mine explained to me, information is drip-fed as you progress to “prevent you from being bombarded”. Or, in other words, to maintain control over information access.
Meanwhile, the US sites would lead you to believe that medical health professionals are obsessed with monitoring, managing, and manipulating your weight gain throughout pregnancy, including berating you if you gain too little weight or, more emphatically, if you gain too much.
Partly, this is because the NHS is unforthcoming: they don’t share information about being pregnant until you are. Their websites offer the bare minimum; their leaflets aren’t much better; they don’t answer my emails; and their advice is always to talk to your midwife. As mine explained to me, information is drip-fed as you progress to “prevent you from being bombarded”. Or, in other words, to maintain control over information access.
Meanwhile, the US sites would lead you to believe that medical health professionals are obsessed with monitoring, managing, and manipulating your weight gain throughout pregnancy, including berating you if you gain too little weight or, more emphatically, if you gain too much.
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| Diagram of weight versus gestational age by Yehudamalul via Wikipedia Commons. |
