Why we should be advocating for S.A.F.E.R maternity care in our IVF pregnancies
It’s very common for pregnancies conceived via assisted reproductive technologies, including IVF, to be labelled as ‘high risk’. As a doula, I spend a lot of time supporting clients to ask more questions from their care team so that they can work out what is right for them rather than have someone else tell them. I generally encourage client to ask their care team to:
Be Specific: Explain specifically why a recommendation for intervention is being made.
Provide Appropriate Information: Help you to understand the specific data that is relevant to your circumstances, including understanding where data is lacking.
Give the Full Picture: Clearly explain the risks of the intervention on offer as well as the risks of not intervening.
Encourage Exploration: Give you time and space to explore the information available to you so that you can come to an informed decision.
Respect their decision: Support you in your informed decision, even if it does not match their recommendation.
Handily (and not without considerable scribbling in a notebook I might add), these five points also create a mnemonic, SAFER.
There should be no such thing as ‘blanket care’ that is dished out to every woman who has conceived via assisted reproductive technology, however sadly I often speak to people who tell me that they are ‘not allowed’ to go past their due date or ‘have to have’ a range of additional monitoring or tests. These narratives come from a system based on standardised care pathways and a medical culture that does not always welcome individualised decision-making.
Advocate for SAFER maternity care for yourself so that you can decide what’s right for you.
