FAQ's About Birth Stories

Q: What can I post about?

A: You may submit any material related to your birth experiences.  This can include, but is not necessarily limited to, your pregnancy, the birth itself, and immediate postpartum period.  You may wish to include how you felt not only physically, but emotionally and mentally throughout your birth journey.  If you have had multiple pregnancies, multiple submission work best so we may tag and categorize them in ways most efficient for other mothers to find your story.

Q: What is off-limits?

A:  The only submissions that will not be posted are submission focused solely on creating a villain out of a specific place of care, or caregiver.  Even if you've had an undesirable birth experience, you may submit your story without villefying your care provider or place of care.  If you'd like help, submit your story and one of the moderators will tell you which phrases need to be altered, and offer suggestions as to how.  For example, phrases such as, "At that point, I felt very unsupported or respected by my doctor," are acceptable.  Phrases such as, "Dr. [insert real name here] was a complete moron," are not acceptable. 

Q. Do you post every entry?
A. Generally, yes.  If there is something specific about your submission that would prohibit it from being posted, you will receive an E-mail explaining the issue.  You may either make changes, or choose not to re-submit. This is a place for YOUR voice about YOUR birth, not a "safe" version of it.

Q. Do you edit the entries?
A. In general, no.  You know what you are comfortable posting to a public internet forum, so we depend on you to use your best judgement in what to open up to the public, and what to remain private.  The only 100%, hands down rule to the contrary is the names of care providers.  Even if your submission idolizes them, they are not present to give permission for their name and any other identifying information to be given.  If your submission contains such information, it will be generalized (ie. "Dr. 'X' respected my wishes regarding the chance to labor in the water"; or "At (General Hospital), the C-section rate is 28%").  Occasionally, a simple and obvious typo will be seen and corrected, but entries should be proofread before you submit.  Grammatical errors will most likely be left in tact to avoid potentially alterting the submitting author's intented meaning. 

Q. I submitted my story and pictures a few days ago, but have not seen them posted.  Where is my entry?
A. There are several moderators working dilligently to ensure timely posting, however, we are all volunteers.  We will do our best to publish your submissions in a timely manner, as well as send you an E-mail with a permalink to your specific entry to make sharing your story even easier.  We apologize in advance for any untimely delay in publication that may occur.

Q: What can I post about?

A: You may submit any material related to your birth experiences.  This can include, but is not necessarily limited to, your pregnancy, the birth itself, and immediate postpartum period.  You may wish to include how you felt not only physically, but emotionally and mentally throughout your birth journey.  If you have had multiple pregnancies, multiple submission work best so we may tag and categorize them in ways most efficient for other mothers to find your story.

Q: What is off-limits?

A:  The only submissions that will not be posted are submission focused solely on creating a villain out of a specific place of care, or caregiver.  Even if you've had an undesirable birth experience, you may submit your story without villefying your care provider or place of care.  If you'd like help, submit your story and one of the moderators will tell you which phrases need to be altered, and offer suggestions as to how.  For example, phrases such as, "At that point, I felt very unsupported or respected by my doctor," are acceptable.  Phrases such as, "Dr. [insert real name here] was a complete moron," are not acceptable. 

Q. Do you post every entry?
A. Generally, yes.  If there is something specific about your submission that would prohibit it from being posted, you will receive an E-mail explaining the issue.  You may either make changes, or choose not to re-submit. This is a place for YOUR voice about YOUR birth, not a "safe" version of it.

Q. Do you edit the entries?
A. In general, no.  You know what you are comfortable posting to a public internet forum, so we depend on you to use your best judgement in what to open up to the public, and what to remain private.  The only 100%, hands down rule to the contrary is the names of care providers.  Even if your submission idolizes them, they are not present to give permission for their name and any other identifying information to be given.  If your submission contains such information, it will be generalized (ie. "Dr. 'X' respected my wishes regarding the chance to labor in the water"; or "At (General Hospital), the C-section rate is 28%").  Occasionally, a simple and obvious typo will be seen and corrected, but entries should be proofread before you submit.  Grammatical errors will most likely be left in tact to avoid potentially alterting the submitting author's intented meaning. 

Q. I submitted my story and pictures a few days ago, but have not seen them posted.  Where is my entry?
A. There are several moderators working dilligently to ensure timely posting, however, we are all volunteers.  We will do our best to publish your submissions in a timely manner, as well as send you an E-mail with a permalink to your specific entry to make sharing your story even easier.  We apologize in advance for any untimely delay in publication that may occur.