Today's TLC Baby Story - vent

[nia82]

I can't believe what I just saw. The mom to be says: it is the new millennium. I chose a c-section to have control and the old ways to push out a balloon down there are just primitive to me.

Birth is primitive. Who knew? Choosing a vaginal delivery makes us cavewomen. Wow.
it saddens me to see something like that and even worse, so many pregnant women watch this and it gives them really bad ideas.

[lavieenrose]

I've always felt "A Baby Story" was one of the worst offenders when it came to glorifying medicalized birth. Ugh.

[AFWife]

When I was pregnant EVERYONE asked if I was addicted to "Baby Story" I never watched it so I can't really comment on the content..

I will say that it is not a popular show around MDC...

[KiwiZ]

Originally Posted by nia82

Birth is primitive. Who knew? Choosing a vaginal delivery makes us cavewomen. Wow.

By that logic, we should give sex up too , its so primal! Everyone is different and has different experiences but my VBAC was soooo much easier to heal from than my c-sec.

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by KiwiZ

By that logic, we should give sex up too , its so primal!

Good point!
I respect any woman's choice to get a c-section but it saddens me when it's based on misinformation and/or ideas of birth being "primitive" and therefore no longer useful and to be avoided. It goes right along with thinking everything "primitive" can be better replaced with some modern, technological solution. You know, "better living through chemistry" type thinking. Bleh.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by KiwiZ

By that logic, we should give sex up too , its so primal! Everyone is different and has different experiences but my VBAC was soooo much easier to heal from than my c-sec.

I think there's a general idea that c/s are faster, less painful, and all around easier. The fact that it's SURGERY doesn't enter a lot of people's minds.

[lindberg99]

Do yourself a favor and quit watching it.

I've had two c-sections. I was in control of absolutely nothing, not even the choice of date or time for the one that was scheduled. What the heck does the lady on the show feel like she's in control of? I had more control over my bunion surgery than the birth of my baby by c-section. At least for that I got to choose the date, time and type of anesthesia I wanted.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by nia82

it saddens me to see something like that and even worse, so many pregnant women watch this and it gives them really bad ideas.

I used to watch it all the time. As you can imagine I learned a lot when I started Googling and stumbled onto Mothering! And I'll bet that many women never learn more than what Baby Story and their OB tells them. It makes me sad.

[BettinaAuSucre]

yeah that and maternity ward.
its hard to find good pregnancy related show on tv nowadays.

baby story always urked me. they tried to be progessive by showing same sex couples and interracial couples, but it fell short.

it just hightlights hospitals tendencies to treat mothers to be like cattle.

[november]

Uh, gee. Yeah. Sign me up for a c-section where I'm totally helpless under anesthesia, fully reliant on a doctor. Nothing could ever make me feel more in control.

[KaylaBeanie]

I HATE Baby Story (and Deliver Me), yet I watch it frequently. It's like a trainwreck, you can't look away.

I loved that show on Discovery Health, about the birth center in Miami. I forget the name but it was wonderful. I frequently would wake up at 5 am just to watch it, then I'd go back to bed. My grandma loved it too. They cancelled it or something, it's never on anymore I feel that DHC is slightly more liberal when it comes to birth. Even though they call the shows "Extreme Birth" and such, they come off as positive experiences. My favorite was the woman who had a VBAC in a yurt in Hawaii.

I have to say my least favorite is Bringing Home Baby. It's so sad to see so many boys screaming while their parents joke about circ, and to see so many moms get bad advice re: formula and lose their nursing relationship.

[tanyam926]

Yeah, I had to stop watching that show bc my dh got tired of me yelling at the TV.

[momtoS]

I can't stand the opening where bottles dance up to the house....and the info they have on C Sections and breastfeeding really bother me....and honestly make me sad....

[MissE]

Originally Posted by momtoS

I can't stand the opening where bottles dance up to the house....and the info they have on C Sections and breastfeeding really bother me....and honestly make me sad....

I used to watch all those shows a lot and we eventually downgraded our channel package which I'm grateful for.

I hate the beginning of deliver me, where they show the scalpell and everything. Like birth means surgery and you need to cut ...argh.

The show with the midwifes was "House of Babies" and I just LOVED the head lady there. She was awesome.

[caro113]

Originally Posted by lavieenrose

I've always felt "A Baby Story" was one of the worst offenders when it came to glorifying medicalized birth. Ugh.

I remember an episode (I walked into the living room at my mother's and she is addicted to that show) where they were talking about breaking the waters because it's just better that way. I yelled at the tv, too. It really annoys me. Of course, my mother then says "what do you know?" I was pregnant and had already done a lot of reading, especially here, and knew it was crap.

lindberg99: I'm surprised by that, actually. My mother had a scheduled c-section with me and my parents purposely chose my birthday. They chose the time, too, but they got pushed back because someone came in for an emergency c-section just before my mother's scheduled time.

Also, I don't understand why a pysch eval isn't automatically requested for a woman who declares she's having a c-section to stay in control. How is that not a HUGE red flag?!?!

[nia82]

I know I should stop watching that stuff... DH fears I might throw something at the TV and break it

But like a PP said, it's like a train wreck and I also feel it's some sort of education of what to expect with an obgyn and at the hospital... I have heard of the weirdest conditions that obs made up on that show to get csections or inductions done... Sort of like watch your enemy and learn about his strategies...

I absolutely hate how they always mock women who plan on natural births and then get all smug when they end up with an epidural.

Totally agree that bringing home baby is absolutely horrible - I watched a couple episodes, never again. It's just too much. Deliver me is horrifying. Do they only take like high risk patients there? Most cases are women with conditions, cancers etc. Apart from that, I just don't like those docs. I noticed though that Dr. Park had natural births, it was mentioned along the lines at some point. I wanted to scream when the brown haired one circed a little boy (I understand that family did it for religious reasons) and she casually mentioned how she couldn't be in the room when it was done to her son. Poor baby was without mama for that horrible moment.