23/01/2020
Does this look a little complicated to you?
Life is full of unintended consequences.
Birth interventions are super common in our modern birth culture, and often have unintended effects. To mitigate those effects, further interventions are used to "solve" the problem created by the intervention, which may in turn create even more problems and the need for more interventions.
This idea that using one intervention can lead to the need for more interventions is called a "cascade of intervention."
Almost every intervention has some potential to cause harm. You should use care in giving consent for an intervention. Weigh carefully the possible benefits and harms, and also - it is TOTALLY OKAY to ask for some time to consider how you feel about the possible outcomes and other options.
Birth is wild, and we can't predict with perfect accuracy what will happen during an individual labor. We also can't predict the outcome once an intervention is introduced.
The best way to limit a cascade of intervention is to become informed, get all of your questions answered, and plan in place in advance things that will help you avoid potentially harmful interventions.
* Midwifery care
* Doula support
* Birth out-of-hospital or at home
* Choose a provider that shares your beliefs about birth
* Read and gather information
* Listen to stories from people you trust
* Listen to your intuition
* Inform your birth team
* Make it clear that you must give consent before any intervention
**edited to add: we neglected to include 'Postpartum Mood Disorders' on this graphic, which was one of the main reasons we created it. Even we got lost in the maze of interventions and sequelae. It was a dizzying task to make this graphic. We apologize if the lack of attention on the emotional ramifications of this cascade appear to be missing or seen as inconsequential. That is not our belief, and future versions of this graphic will certainly include that common and painful effect.
(graphic by These Are My Hours)
