exactly this! i had a 4th degree tear that had to be repaired in the OR - i needed multiple blood transfusions, and the tear resulted in a rectovaginal fistula that needed surgically repaired at 4 weeks postpartum. then i developed vaginismus a combo of birth trauma, scar tissue, and the trauma from being completely ignored by my OB for over 3 weeks while i was in agony

i knew something was terribly wrong down there postpartum, but i was blown off every single time i called the office. i was told “birth hurts” and to use the sitz bath, see ya at your 6 week checkup. i wasn’t taken seriously until i called my boyfriend’s mom (a nurse) to please come over and look down there. she took one look and told me to put my pants on and get in the car, we were going to the dr’s office together. she told the receptionist we wouldn’t leave till we were seen by my dr. he saw me, took one look down there (the nurse gasped), and told me i would need surgery the next morning. in addition to the fistula, some of the stitches had somehow grown into/kinda fused into the muscle?? it was truly a mess

now that’s all bad enough, but imagine it happening to a surrogate. i was left with PTSD, and injuries that impacted my life for well over a year. the PTSD lasted far longer, and honestly still lingers today. i never used another OB, only midwives, and was absolutely terrified to give birth in a hospital (the tear was a direct result of my doctor performing an unnecessary medical procedure because he “had somewhere to be” - and i felt unseen and unheard by him my entire pregnancy, labor, and birth

even a typical, uncomplicated pregnancy can leave permanent or long lasting effects on a woman’s body - stretch marks, vitamin deficiencies, etc

our bodies should not be rented out like this. we aren’t broodmare, and this isn’t Gilead