Tennessee law prohibits women from having abortions in nearly all circumstances. But once the babies are here, the state provides little help. We followed one family as they struggled to make it.

In the midst of the turmoil in July 2022, they learned Mayron was pregnant again. But this time, doctors warned she and her fetus might not survive.

The embryo had been implanted in scar tissue from her recent cesarean section. There was a high chance that the embryo could rupture, blowing open her uterus and killing her, or that she could bleed to death during delivery. The baby could come months early and face serious medical risks, or even die.

Tennessee already had some of the worst outcomes in the nation when measuring maternal health, infant mortality and child poverty. Lawmakers who paved the way for a new generation of post-Roe births did little to bolster the state’s meager safety net to support these babies and their families.

    • @[email protected]English
      12•9 months ago

      Calling child labor an “inconvenience” has got to be the understatement of the year.

      • @mx_smith
        -6•9 months ago

        No I’m not saying it’s an inconvenience, I’m saying there are many women I have known recently to treat it as such. I think it’s fine to get a C-section as my own son was born that way, it’s that it almost seems to be a trend that you take that option so you don’t have to deal with labor, at least for the rich women that I have known.

        • @[email protected]English
          6•9 months ago

          And?

          Child birth is extremely traumatic on the body, usually with permanent side effects. I wouldn’t blame anyone for making that choice.

    • @just_ducky_in_NH
      1•9 months ago

      That c-section was a travesty. What the hell were they doing, making an incision over six inches long straight up her abdomen, cutting across the grain of all her abdominal muscles? That doctor should have their license revoked.