The Illusion of Choice

This artwork, created using colored pencil and oil pastel on drawing paper, portrays a surgeon’s bedside table following childbirth. In the far left corner lies a freshly removed placenta, while blood splatters across the table hint at a difficult delivery. This is reinforced by the emergency-only scissors, prominently labeled to indicate their specific use.

Beneath a metal tray sits an open birth control package, partially obscured by a gestation wheel—an instrument used to estimate due dates based on the last menstrual cycle. Nearby, a pamphlet intended for new parents suggests a tense and overwhelming atmosphere. Scattered Tylenol pills and a blood sample used to measure cortisol levels (a stress hormone associated with premature birth) echo the messiness of the scene.

Finally, a "Congratulations!" card sits ironically amid the chaos, challenging the traditional narrative that birth is always a joyful experience and instead highlighting how it can also be deeply traumatic.