21/07/2026
“First they came for VBAC, and I did not speak out, because mine was not a VBAC. Then they came for twin birth, and I did not speak out, because mine was not a twin birth. Then they came for breech birth, and I did not speak out, because mine was not a breech birth. Then they came for home birth, and I did not speak out, because mine was not a home birth. Then they came for my birth, and there was no one left to speak for me.” — drstu
I recently heard this poem on Dr Stu’s podcast and I cannot say how much it resonated with me.
When I had my babies I thought birth was pretty normal. Low intervention, nothing dramatic. As I moved into midwifery I began to see that this felt like the minority, not the majority.
After I had my third quickly at home, something snapped in me that was irreversible. The absolute realisation of what normal birth can be. Soon after I went back to work I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I felt I had to fight for this, to share the good news of normal physiological birth, to protect women and give them real options.
This poem hit so hard because it is so easy not to fight for things when they don’t affect us directly. Whether you had a great experience or a hard one, this is a reminder that it is always worth standing up for the things that matter 💥
Stuart James Fischbein,MD
📸 Beautiful Til