It seems that across the board, the medical establishment makes BILLIONS of dollars off the bodies and minds of women. Often playing to their fears and insecurities, women are often directly or indirectly forced to feel that procedures are normal, necessary, and completely safe. The most concerning part of all of this to me is not necessarily that we have a SOARING c/section rate, that does not translate into better outcomes for mothers and infants. (Don’t get me wrong I am VERY concerned about this and the fact that the C/Section is the most common surgery in our country.) My biggest concern is NOT that women across the country are getting potentially unsafe breast implants, MANY, because of societal pressures to feel prettier.
What often concerns me more than anything is the blantant lack of information that is given to women about the risks, benefits, and alternatives to treatments they are given. Whether it’s hormonal menopausal treatments, epidurals for labor, birth control methods, hysterectomies, weight loss, inductions, c/sections, and yes breast implants, women are often given small amounts of incomplete information that often leave them with more questions than answers. When they attempt to get more information by asking questions they are often met with raised eyebrows, stiff collars, and attitudinal answers that leave them feeling as if asking questions is unacceptable. Sometimes women are straight lied to… like when they are told an epidural for labor has NO risks to their baby!! NOT true!! But since this post is not about that… I will move on … 
Informed consent is a misnomer in our current medical climate. It should be called What We Want You to Know Consent. It is frightening the information that women are NOT given about “routine” procedures and things that are “safe” when the research is still out. My goal is to help women gain info re: obstetrical procedures and labor. It is Carol Ciancutti-Leyva’s goal to help women get access to information re: the possible dangers of breast implants. She has a documentary called Absolutely Safe and I think her goal is wonderful. From her website:
“In the end, it doesn’t matter who the woman is who’s making the choice to get breast implants—what she does for a living, what she wears, how much she earns. What matters, as ABSOLUTELY SAFE contends, is if the woman making this choice is making an informed choice based on solid, long-term research on this product.”
As we gain ground in every aspect of medical care that is affecting women we ALL win. Take a look at her website and no matter what the procedure or process, get informed!!
In Breast, Birth and Love !!
Nicole
Insecurity comes from the media and environment, not the medical community performing cosmetic surgery.
Hi Dr. Arturo… I didn’t say that the medical community who performs cosmetic surgery causes the insecurities. You are right… the media, our paternalistic culture, our upbringing and more…. cause the insecurities that the medical establishment “often” takes advantage of. Not everyone who has plastic surgery or even a breast implant does so because she is insecure. I definitely understand that, and in fact that was not the primary point of the post. Rather the point was to bring to light that there are many procedures performed on women without FULL informed consent. I just want women to be fully aware of the benifits AND RISKS inherent in any procedure before saying yes especially to any elective procedure. That is as important with labor inductions as it is with breast implants. I think that its only fair that women get COMPLETE and HONEST information. if the jury is still out then we should say so and let her decide. Isn’t that the honest and right way??
I don’t think the medical community plays on the insecurities of women, they just provide a means of enhancing self image which may have diminished due to the media, home life, upbringing, etc. When a woman gets earrings I don’t think she’s playing into insecurity, merely trying to come in line with self image.
“It seems that across the board, the medical establishment makes BILLIONS of dollars off the bodies and minds of women. Often playing to their fears and insecurities, women are often directly or indirectly forced to feel that procedures are normal, necessary, and completely safe.”
I hear you Nicole…dont even get ME started on elective cesareans and labor epidurals. They should start calling it “mis”informed consent.
I just added the movie to my Netflix. Thanks for posting about it!
thanks for stopping by & for always showing support. Mis-informed consent is definitely what its become. So sad… So truue