One of the many ways the medical establishment patronizes women is that no one ever tells you that pregnancy can and often does irrevocably damage parts of your body. It's rarely covered in baby books too because it's taboo to talk about the downside of being pregnant. https://twitter.com/lindsaycrouse/status/1353426961557843968

It's also just ambient misogyny that's so pervasive we don't even notice it. There's a fear that if women have this information, they'll take advantage of their own agency and choose not to have children. Even though most women wouldn't.

There are other things too: subjecting new mothers to extreme sleep deprivation (baby must be fed every 2 hrs!) for two months, even after surgery (c-sections), something that wouldn't be medically advised in any other situation.

(Have always thought that some post-partum psychological problems and illnesses are really just the effects of extreme sleep deprivation over time, which has been known to cause those exact same problems in adults who are not new mothers.)

Instead, you just get gaslighted by medical professionals. It's not that you're operating on 3 hrs of sleep a night, which would make anyone sick, both physically and mentally, you get told it's your hormones or your new mommy emotions, when basic common sense says otherwise.

(In the moment, I was too disoriented and exhausted to be angry about this, but once I had a week's worth of decent sleep I was floored by what obvious bullshit it was.)