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A mum was given 'advice' on how to get her figure back 'straight away' just hours after giving birth to her daughter.
Louise Goulden was shocked when she was handed the letter from the physiotherapy department in her NHS hospital discharge pack.
Under the heading 'Post-natal exercises' it read: "For all mothers who have delivered either normally or by caesarean section.
"Now that your baby has been born you will be anxious to get your figure back.
" DO START STRAIGHT AWAY . It gets harder the longer you wait. Begin by doing some very big breathes in and out, taking the air right down to your waist.
"This will make sure that the bottom of your lungs , that have been squashed by the baby, are full of air again."
Louise, CEO of the Together Project, tweeted the "utterly depressing" and "insane" 'advice' as she revealed she had written a letter of complaint to the hospital and added: "For the avoidance of doubt, she was born in 2020, not 1950. @EverydaySexism."
She said the letter was "not just offensive and outdated" but also "dangerous" and is determined to make sure "no other woman" has it "thrust into her hands at possibly the most vulnerable time in her life."
Louise vowed: "Not going to stop until I know that’ll happen."
Louise explained to her followers: "I’m a second time mum and was feeling emotionally well, so was lucky enough to feel indignant at it, rather than it causing anxiety, depression, self-hatred or any other nasty things that other women will have been at risk of.
Louise, from London, revealed that when she gave birth to her first child at a different hospital three and a half years ago she wasn't given the same letter.
She has chosen not to reveal the name of the hospital to give them a fair chance to put things right.
Her tweet has now gone viral with many people shocked by the 'advice'.
One person wrote: "WTAF…the irresponsibility of handing that to a woman after giving birth is mind-blowing. What kind of duty of care failure is happening in that maternity unit?
Another said: "There’s so much wrong here, from body shaming to inferring that non-vaginal births (i.e. c-sections) are abnormal. Words make all the difference."
Louise was also praised for complaining with someone saying: "Huge respect to for formally complaining and hopefully starting a productive conversation with the hospital/Trust."
Somebody else tweeted: "Are you 100% sure this is from 2020?! Not got access to any time machines or anything? Holy s**tt. This is horrendous."
Many other mums shared their horrifying experiences after giving birth.
One person said: "Sorry you had to experience this! In 2008 after an emergency csection and nearly losing my son, i was told that i would need to work even harder to get rid of my bump. Thank you doctor its just what i needed to hear."
Another wrote: "This is dreadful. In my follow up appointment my midwife asked me in front of my husband if I had experienced any violence and then said ‘he doesn’t look the type’. 13 years later and I am still ashamed I didn’t report her."
While another tweeted: "This reminds me of when my midwife told me that it was important that I bathed baby before 5.30pm….so that I wouldn't be late getting my husband's dinner on the table when he got home."
Responding to the stories being shared in the thread, Louise added: "Many sad and shocking stories in this thread. At what is often the most vulnerable and identity-shifting point in our life we’re on the sharp-end of misogyny that has the power to undermine, depress and damage.
"And this is from healthcare professionals – whose lives we literally put in their hands. Want to stress it’s a v small minority of them (most of mine were excellent), but it only takes one comment or piece of trash advice to do lasting damage."
- NHS
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