It’s an old trope you’ve heard over and over.
But as a country, we’re not doing it.
It’s also really, really dangerous, and it can be fatal.
Kelvin Murray/Getty Images
And yet it’s treated like just something you do.
Like,Oh, you’re pregnant, so what?
You want a gold star or something?
Well you know what, we should be giving gold stars to pregnant people.
We should also be giving them fair treatment in the workplace, in public, and in the hospital.
I’m talking about decency and understanding.
I’m talking about preserving lives.
Have you ever seen a pregnant person rock climbing in their third trimester?
Or tying their shoes?
(OK, so some can tie their shoes, but not many of them!)
Being pregnantwhile not a disabilityis a temporary medical condition that alters ones abilities to a great extent.
You might think, Asking for a doctor’s note?
Well that sounds reasonable.
In the past decade or so, the U.S.
These workers are bringing new life into the world and risking their own lives to do so.
(Gestational diabetesis, by the way, more likely to be recognized as a disability under ADA.)
President Trump has said hewants to institute six weeks of paid maternity leave.
We’ll see when that happens.
And if it does, it will be insufficient.
Six weeks is the minimum time a person needs to recover from a vaginal birth with no complications.
What about a complicated birth, or a C-section?
Lets say youve had a healthy, normal, employed pregnancy and enjoyed a stress-free six weeks ofmaternity leave.
(Breastfeeding shaming is a whole other can of worms to open another time.)
So what can you do?
Well, singled-out like that, not much.
But if we ALLspeak upagainst these insults against humanitarianism, we should see a cultural shift.
Tell them you demand they work to improve our health care system, andnot tear it down.
Silence does nothing except perpetuate stigma and implicitly contribute to the harm we do to our pregnant citizens.
Your Gynecolumnist regularly donates toProPublica.
Leah Torres, M.D., is a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.
Twitter:@LeahNTorres
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