Deliver Me, I didn’t know I was pregnant, Maternity Ward, A Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby, all the makings of a maternity care system in crisis. I have come to a point in my life where I cannot bring myself to watch any of these shows anymore. One after another they are rushed off for into the operating room for their cesarean sections, be it elective, scheduled, emergency (because of some intervention the doctor put into place), or because of their high risk pregnancies.
The message we are sending out women, young and old is that the majority of women having babies need highly skilled surgeons to manage their low risk pregnancies. Which all in all is over kill. 10-15% of pregnant women should be considered high risk, and seeing Obstetricians. Where a good 75% of women should be seen by midwives, able, educated, and ready to handle the care of women, on a far more intimate, and one on one basis. Not in and out in 10 minutes not listening to the concerns or questions they have. But now, back to these shows.
Oh My Gosh! NATURAL BIRTH?!?! OH NO!!!!!
They take the hand full of super high risk women who need medical interventions for their own safety, and show them like normal pregnancies. The fact is they are showcasing these stories for ratings. The most dramatic deliveries make for more viewers. Like in the case of the Discovery Health Channel show Deliver Me. Their tag line being, When pregnancies have a dangerous turn. At least in the episodes I have flipped through in the middle of the night.
They show all these women who need cesareans, premature labor, birth defects, mothers with heart conditions, and promoting them at the norm when it comes to birth.
Not the case.
This is why young girls today are being raised to be so absolutely petrified at becoming pregnant or giving birth. They want to be drugged up, epidurals, inductions, in complete control, which they do not know cases all these high risk scary deliveries. Cytotec being used for induction, which we all know is horrible and not FDA approved for labor induction, pitocin, elective cesareans, all the crap that we should want to be avoiding, not asking for.
How about some shows about natural birth, that aren’t titled “Extreme Births” like the ONE natural birth show that discovery health showed. They took 3 women across the world two of which were having unattended births, and showed these women as their clips for natural birth.
How about showing midwife attended home births?
How about showing midwife attended hospital births with no interventions?
How about showing midwife attended freestanding birth center births?
Because it isn’t what people want to see! Well at least the mainstream idiots who want the crazy, hectic, unnatural, intervention filled births.
Maybe discovery health should show The Business of Being Born as a special?
All I know is that so many first time mothers are being brainwashed by these crappy shows, and something really needs to change.
Boycott these stupid shows or else they are going to continue, and work against the natural birth community and all that we work for daily.
I would love to find a midwife attending homebirth show! In an era of “extreme” everything, how could that kind of show not find an audience? I would totally set my DVR for that!
Comment by Lindsey — September 10th, 2009 @ 9:33 am
There is/was a Canadian birth show that had a good mix of births, including homebirths. Birth Stories, from the Life Network. Only birth show I could stand
Comment by Lisa — January 1st, 2010 @ 10:08 pm
The kind of TV programming you mentioned does contribute to fear of labor and delivery. It is not the only source though. As a woman it seems like in my lifetime there have been few experiences where I have been empowered and truly educated about my body. I cannot blame TV alone for the fear of labor and delivery without blaming most of my gynos, my female relatives, and anyone else who has ever told me not to trust my body.
Comment by kia — January 28th, 2010 @ 2:57 pm