PolicyResearcher

To Bundled up: I know Emily mentioned the HEPA filter, but I want to re-up that suggestion. We got smaller air purifiers from Home Depot (also sell them at Costco) for each kid’s room and now a larger one for our basement that indicates the air quality while it operates. My younger kid (now 1.5) used to have constant stuffy noses, and they’ve been MUCH better since we put in the air filter. (It also helps with stinky diaper smell.) The one in the basement has refreshed the air from the cat box and general basement musk – and we now hang out in the basement much more. I’d imagine something similar might save your fireplace. Good luck!

I have been sort of offended about how little is shared publicly about the trauma of birth. For my second kid, I was in a expecting moms group through my doula, and only one of the other women had given birth before. It felt like the discussion was all sunshine, rainbows, birth plans, and deep breaths. The group facilitators downplayed my comments when I insinuating that birth was likely to have a lot of unexpected elements (my first was 6 weeks preemie and I had to induce after my water broke spontaneously). When the group reconvened after giving birth, it was like being with a bunch of traumatized war veterans. Quite a few of the women had very serious complications, and any notion of a birth plan was laughable. Should the doulas have shared more to prepare them? Or is there no real preparation for the actual trauma of birth? Or is having a good attitude going in a predictor of success?

But also why doesn’t society at large appreciate that this *very common* event is actually pretty darn traumatic for a large share of the population? (Emily said half(!) of births have mild or moderate complications!) Maybe it’s just one of those things, like parenting itself, that’s hard to explain until you’re in it? Curious about the wisdom of this community.