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A Smattering
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Head In the Sand, Not Looking Up
The End of Mystery
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Are You Trying to Tell Me Something?
When I had Felix, I wrote here about how the pride of receiving his birth certificate (which really did make the triumph of having him seem tangible to me), was mildly tempered by the huge volume of SIDS and "Don't Shake Your Baby" literature that came stuffed in the envelope with this precious document.
This time around, the concerns of the governments and businesses that are aware of my having had a child are rather different.
When I was around six months gone, my insurance company called to ask a series of questions, many of which were about whether or not I was depressed and if so how depressed I might actually be. The conversation also contained a quiz about whether or not I was a victim of domestic abuse. Curious, I thought.
At a pre-birth hospital visit, where I had to give a little blood and answer a few questions, I was again asked if I was subject to abuse at home. Suddenly it became clear why the little office had no room to accommodate partners in it and there was only a solitary chair outside the office. My husband was, actually, lurking outside and even as I assured the woman who was taking my blood and quizzing me that my home life is great, I was conjuring TV movie-of-the-week scenarios wherein I would have to lean in to her and speak Pig Latin or something to make her aware of the danger I was really in, behind my bright smiles.
And then yesterday, a big questionnaire arrived from my insurance company, this time about post partum depression. Their concern is extraordinary, really, as are the PPD risk factors, which include: "chronic yeast infections," "poor nutrition," "severe morning sickness," "first baby over the age of 30" (?!?) "problems in your marriage" (from the No Mystery department), "breastfeeding stopped too soon after delivery," and "poor relationship with your mother."
I respect public initiatives to prevent bad things from happening and general misery from setting in, but I am interested in this shift from the messages of 2 years ago which were, as I said, much more infant-centric.
Having said that, Sebastian's birth certificate did come with the "Don't Shake" and SIDS cautions.
posted by Elise at 8:45 AM
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