My body, my birth, my choice, so butt out!

Everyone has a damn opinion on how I should push my baby out of my vagina. I don't see how it is anyone else's business except mine. I don't really see how aiming for intervention free labour and birth makes me a martyr if I never tell anybody that's what I'm aiming for. I didn't bring it up for gods sake! You did, and then you pushed and pushed until I told you what I was planning, and then you told me I was a fool - and you don't even have any children! And you know shit all about labour and birth. Never mind that I've spent the last year researching, reading, talking to people about this, no you've seen Greys Anatomy so that makes you the fucking expert on how I should push my baby out. I'll remember to criticise and shit on your choices when your time comes shall I? I'll do my best to make you feel insecure and scared and foolish, cos that's really the best thing women can do for each other.

I wrote the above when I was pregnant. It has been sitting in draft form ever since, I guess at some point I was going to make it into a proper post. But it pretty well sums up the frustration I felt when talking to people about the impending birth. I think I'll just publish it as is, for posterity :-)