In mid-February, the world was rocked by the tragic news that an Australian woman had delivered a baby girl in her womb, despite the fact she had no prenatal care and had only been given a bottle and a bandage.
As news of the tragic death spread, the Australian Medical Association issued a statement saying the baby girl was the first baby born at its annual conference.
What followed was a flurry of public health and social media posts, with the hashtag #BirthControlLivesMatter.
And what followed was even more public health, with a series of social media memes and videos.
The hashtag #BabyLivesLife was also coined by those who were upset about the case.
“BabyLightsMatter” was coined by a woman on Twitter who was distraught after learning that her first baby girl had been born at her home, despite her having been given only a bottle, a bandaging, and some water.
The #BirthcontrolLivesmatter hashtag quickly spread across social media and became a rallying cry for women who had lost a child, especially in the US, where the baby formula and other products can be readily available for sale.
“We all need to get our shit together and realise that we are all not perfect,” she said.
“And that we can’t take for granted that if we can just get our crap together, we can all go home.”
One of the biggest messages from the hashtag was that women should get to know their bodies before they start using birth control.
“It’s a real life thing,” one woman tweeted.
“A baby is just born.
Don’t put your health at risk.”
Another woman tweeted: “What I love about this is it makes us feel like we’re doing something.
We are taking control of our lives, and that’s the biggest lesson we can learn from it.”
Another tweeted: #Birth controlLivesLive.
“Just like when I had a baby, I feel like I’m just about to do it again.
But it’s so much more.”
A lot of the #BirthcareLives hashtag focused on women who were not having a baby or had a negative experience with birth control in the past, such as a failed attempt at getting pregnant through coitus interruptus, a situation where the woman stopped using birthcontrol because of a medical condition.
“So many of the posts I’ve seen are people being upset because they have no control over their fertility and are having a very difficult time getting pregnant,” Dr Kym McBeth, a maternal health specialist at Melbourne’s Macquarie University, told the ABC.
The term has since become synonymous with those who had to deal with unintended pregnancies and birth control failures, as the term has been used to describe women who have been affected by the failure to get contraception. “
This is the most effective way to make a difference.”
The term has since become synonymous with those who had to deal with unintended pregnancies and birth control failures, as the term has been used to describe women who have been affected by the failure to get contraception.
“The hashtag #birthcontrolLIVESLive really resonated with the women that have had unintended pregnancies, that have been trying to conceive through coital abstinence,” Dr McBath said.
She said the hashtag became a “very effective tool for women to communicate that they need to talk to their healthcare provider about what is going on.”
“Women are feeling so alone and they are also being so blamed for the failure of their reproductive system.”
“They feel so betrayed that they don’t know how to take care of themselves.”
But while #BirthCareLiveslive has received plenty of criticism, Dr Mcbeth said she believed it was the right way to discuss the issue.
“There is a need to really think about how we are going to have the conversation about this and not just focus on what is the biggest issue,” she explained.
“For many people, it is very emotional and it is also a bit scary.”
The hashtag has also been used as a rallying point by women who want to discuss contraception with their healthcare providers.
“They are all really, really hurt and they feel they are missing out on a huge amount of care,” Dr McGarry said.
Dr McCanneth said some women may not have had the support they needed during pregnancy, so they felt compelled to start talking about it.
“I think we need to find out what is happening with them and if we are not seeing them in a way that is going to be supportive, we need those to be brought into the conversation,” she added.
“To some extent, it does feel like it is a little bit like taking control.”
I think there is a bit of a backlash against birth control right now and that needs to change.
We need to recognise that birth control is an integral part of the female experience, and it’s a really important part of our reproductive system and we need people to have this support.
“
If you’ve ever had a problem with pregnancy or fertility, please reach out to us to share