frustrating TV portrayal of HB (again!!) vent.

[bunny's mama]

okay, so i admit my guilty pleasure is the WB show "charmed" (the one with the 3 witches that fight evil). so call me adolescent...

anyway, one of the witches is pg and since she is a witch and her hubby is an angel (just humor me here folks..) the babe is very special and they know they cannot see a doc, or have babe in hospital. so in last night's episode, the hubby brings home a video to show the wife, "the joys of homebirthing." wow. how cool, i'm thinking. they are actually gonna show homebirth on TV and finally we can all see what birthing is really like.

then they show the couple watching the video and i just about puked: the mom in the video has an IV in her hand, she is laying down on her back pushing and screaming in pain. the witch/pg mama says "i need an epidural just to watch this." another sister walks in the room and says "euuuuu. what are you watching? a horror movie?" (or something to that effect).

argh. perhaps the show will have a progression towards showing this character coming to terms with HB and in the end she will have a beautiful birth with her sisters attending. one can only hope

[hawleyclan]

Hi! Maybe you should write in now with your opinion so that they can get some ideas before they shoot that episode...:

Otherwise, they will probably assume that the American public will only be amused by the same ooold dried up "horrible birth experience, lunatic- screaming- ranting- clawing- hateful birthing mother"...

Not to mention the pitiful, brain-dead, slobbering, stunned father watching from as close to the door as he can get...

AAAaaaaaaaaaaah!!

Okay, I'm done...

Definitely write in before they do the inevitable... :

The Lord bless you!
Zoie

[cdahlgrd]

I saw it and I wrote in my opinion. Hopefully someone reads them!!

I also wrote in beggin them to do something different for the Friends episode when Rachel gave birth. WHen it showed, it wasn't just her screaming for an epidural!! Strong women unite!!

[bunny's mama]

cdahl, where did you send your letter?

[queen620]

Mine is similiar. Last night I was watching the Pratice. The lawyers were defending a Christian Science couple who were being charged for murder2 b/c they failed to seek out medical help for their son. Anyway as if that isn't bad enough. The mother is 8 mo pregnant and they totally miss the juries reading of the verdict b/c she is at home giving birth. She is attended by a midwife, and is laying on her back pushing out her son. I thought that seemes so odd.(I had a hospitial delivery with epidural, but when I was at home I was never laying on my back!)

I was left with a totally distaste for last nights show. The Christian Science couple was found guilty. And polisce showed up just an hour or so after baby was born to take the parents into custody. The baby was left with the lawyers waiting for social services. Iguess I was left feeling that could be anyone of us nonvaxing's if our children were to come down with something that could have been prevented if only given a vaccine.

Sorry to get off topic. I have just been thinking about this all day, and just reminding myself that what I saw last night was only tv!: :

[cdahlgrd]

I went to the WB's website and Charmed page. After clicking around to page 2, I think, there was a form to add your thoughts.

[clevah girl]

Mmmm...this must be the hot topic for tv shows now. This is the synopsis for E.R. next week:

ER
A Hopeless Wound
60 min.
Don Cheadle (“Ocean's 11,” “The Rat Pack”) checks in for a four-week guest role.
He plays a gifted but somewhat old med-school student named Paul Nathan, whose first day is literally a trial by fire. After a Halloween-party blaze throws the ER into chaos, he is suddenly swept up in the race to save lives. But the pressure begins to take a toll, forcing Nathan to disclose a secret that leads several staffers to question his ability---and desire---to practice medicine. Meanwhile, Corday and Romano (Paul McCrane) clash over a mysterious infection that could cost their patient a limb; and Weaver refuses to give up on the infant victim of a home birth that went wrong.


: : :

[hawleyclan]

Wow! The power of TV to train the masses...!

Imagine if we could just harness some Pro-homebirth TV time! It could change a whole society!

Just imagine the impact- I can just picture Julia Roberts in a role- blissfully birthing her baby, and that big smile lighting up as she pulls the baby up to her... How about Sandra Bullock giving birth on a hijacked airplane, in a supported squat...? Can you imagine the impact on the masculine role if Pierce Brosnan was in a film where he gently and proudly "catches" his own twin sons in the still of a beautiful evening with his wife...? I bet David Duchovany could do wonders with a homebirth scene...!!

Where is the imagination of screen-writers? Makes me think of that scene in "The Majestic", where all the story lines came back to having a dog in them, just because...: ... Hey, how about Jim Carrey... or Sharon Stone... or...

Well, one can hope...

The Lord bless you,
Zoie

[bunny's mama]

what about all the actresses who have had their babes at home? where are they and why aren't they speaking out for realistic portrayal of birth as a beautiful rite of passage, not a horrific scream-fest? pamela anderson, cindy crawford, rikki lake, thandie newton...i know there are LOTS more of them out there.

i's like to have faith in the folks at charmed that this will turn out well, but i dunno. we're moving in a week and cancelling cable, so y'all will have to keep me updated.

[mtn. mama]

I am hard pressed to recall a tv show that portrayed birthing anywhere near to what it is in reality!

And a bit OT, but I have not been an ER fan since their terrible episode about a boy not vaccinated for measles, contracted it and died. Every character did nothing but piss and moan about how that is child abuse and how the parents that don't will come begging for vacc. when measles breaks out everywhere. And to boot, there were ads for one of the major pharamacuetical co. at each break (can't recall which one). What a bunch of BS!!!!! I'm sticking to PBS.

[simonee]

I thought this post was about our venerable board member Hilary "Hugh" Briss

no member jokes please :LOL

[french*girl]

Anyone remember the show "Once and Again" (same writers as "My So Called Life" and "Thirty-Something"). Well, they had a GREAT homebirth, The best one I've seen on TV yet! It was a planned homebirth but ended up taking place at the father of the babe's ex-wife's house (who was a sweetie) during a huge blizzard.

The ex-wife was freaked out at first (she had to be the "midwife") but the woman in labor snapped her out of it and it ended up being so beautiful. I get goosebumps just remembering it.

[MysticHealerMom]

I've been watching charmed on TNT, so I'm behind the times, but I was expecting a birth - don't give it all away! You would think, as I sometimes wonder, since these women are supposed to be witches and they shop for herbs in China Town that they'd be a little more clued in or at least interested enough to investigate natural and earthly cures. I know the premise of the show is that they're new to all this, (after, what 4 seasons?) but I think they could at least try to embrace natural birth, considering the opportunity they've got here. In one of the earlier episodes they helped their great grandma birth in the past, no pain killers there, and Piper even used accupressure to help w/lower back pain. hm.

I really like Gilmore Girls, and in last nights episode a lot of couples with babies were at Luke's Diner and Luke was whining about them, which dind't bother me because he's supposed to be a curmudgeon. But he started freaking out when one of the women started breastfeeding, in public! "don't they have a place for that??" At least when he asked Lorelie to ask her to stop she just laughed at him. So, I chalked it up to some folks really feel that way and entertainment tv isn't intended to show everyone as being enlightened, it's for comic value - and at least she laughed at him and so did Rory.

But, that totally backwards stuff about crazy hectic birthing and screaming and fainting husbands has just got to go. We get that same stupid portrail everytime and it doesn't match reality in the same ratio.

thanks for the thread, I'm way too addicted to tv, and I still like to jaw about it.

[clevah girl]

I never watched "Once and Again" before, but I saw an ad for an episode about homebirth and decided to watch it. It was a really nice portrayal. I also never watched Darmha and Greg, but caught part of an episode at the laundromat once that had a homebirth. Some of the in-laws were freaking out, saying, "She's having it in the bathtub!?" And on of the older men said, "Well, sometimes I like to read in there."

I'm sure the E.R. episode will be a really accurate portrayal. : There stories about hospital birth aren't even very accurate. They are always showing women giving birth in the E.R. I work in a hospital and believe me, emergency dept.s send any visibly pregnant woman straight up to OB. I really think they'd rather you come into the E.R. with a severed leg than in labor!

[bunny's mama]

mystic, thanks so much for admiting you watch and like charmed, too. so now we are both out of the closet. my dh thinks i am the only person over 19 who watches that show. har har

speaking of dharma and greg, didn't dharma's, the ultimate hippy love goddes have a big hospital birth complete with screaming and drugs? now THAT was WAY out of character for her.

[MysticHealerMom]

I was going to mention that, too.

She's supposed to be a midwife, among other things, and she assisted in the birth of that check-out clerk, I think that was the one where they ended up keeping her baby, until she wanted it back? (whew, I didn't memorize the whole show). And then when she had a baby it was in the hospital and she chose Kitty (Dharma's MIL) as her midwife because she suggested an epidural. Feh.

I always thought that show didn't go far enough and always made the hippies seem weird and Greg's family not. Whatever, Dude.

You know which hollywood birth bothered me, Father of the Bride II. Now that was unreal. And after all that time setting it up. Sheesh.

[JesseMomme]

Well, I as well gag out on a regular basis of birth as portrayed on TV (and the movies for that matter), but I have seen some positive stuff (Not often)

Someone one told me the name of the movie and now I forget it again!! I Think it was a TV movie..anyways the mom is preg and is seperated from the rest of the family living out in the woods in a cabin by the arrival of winter, so most of the movie is about her toughing out the rough winter in a cabin while hugely preg and she subsequently gives birth all by her self w/ no problems. (Anyone know what I am talking about? It has to be at least ten years old)

I was half watching a movie that had Morgan Freeman w/ dreadlocks lol in it a few months ago, I remmber it was on the Oxygen channel. I got really interested when I realized the main character was very pregnant and appeared to be in labor. By herself! Then she gave birth on her bed by herself, brought her baby up to her chest and cried, made me cry!! Love to know what the name of that movie was too.

Wasn't the Once and Again show we are talking about have the Dad played by Ed Bagly Jr. ? (St. Elsewhere) I'm pretty sure I saw it. I only remmeber it being the wife and husband around though and no one else, and I did think it was silly that she was pushing while sitting in bed on her tailbone.

I missed the episode of "Judgeing Amy" (I love that show and hardly watch it go figure) where one of the characters had a planned m/w assisted waterbirth, at home, that got raved about.

I do give the show Friends a little credit for the blase aproach to Rachel's baby suddenly appearing to be breech. Sure beats "Maternity Ward" (or those other reality birth shows) where they are like, well baby is breech, get them to the OR.

As for celebs, Lucy Lawless (Xena- my hero since I was a teenager ) had her second homebirth earlier this year. She lives in New Zealand I believe.

[bunny's mama]

oooh jessemommee, don't get me started on Friends!!! did anyone see the season opener? where rachel brings baby home and can't get her to stop crying??? and they try everything BUT NURSING HER. and monica says "why don't you *feed* her?" and rachel says "i already *fed* her!!" YIKES. would it kill them to show her nursing and calming her baby easily thru the magical magical boob? seemed like they tried extra hard to be non-commital (just in case someone watching might feel guilty for choosing not to nurse ARGH!!)

there was one scene where she was still in the hospital and it MIGHT possibly if you really looked hard maybe sorta showed her maybe sorta nursing for like one second. but the rest was pure stupidity.

one good thing, about 2 weeks ago on boston pulic, there was a teen mom (who incidentally had her baby in the school bathroom and left him in the toilet, but that's another story) and they showed her nursing.

now i'm totally OT, but oh well. i started this thread anyway.

[EmmaJean]

OK, I'm so glad I found this thread. I was SO disgusted with ER tonight, in every respect. It's just becoming a dreadful show and I hate the way they're twisting the story lines. But I digress. Anyway, I just got done watching the show, and, if you didn't see it, it didn't happen the way the ad suggested. To me, it wasn't a "homebirth gone bad". The woman came to the ER with her midwife and baby b/c she had a retained placenta and was bleeding a lot. Her baby was also admitted because he had some problems. While the woman was being treated for the retained placenta, her midwife was by her side, holding her hand, and the woman said, "Maybe I should have had him in the hospital." And the midwife said, "You did everything right." And later the mom said that she had a home birth b/c she thought it was best and that's how she was born, but she said it regretfully. ANYWAY, my main beef with the writers is that the docs NEVER told the woman that the child had a disease NOT related to birth, and being at the hospital wouldn't have prevented anything. Why couldn't Abby have told her that? She's the sweet one! And why didn't the midwife stay to support her like any decent FRIEND would do--she was all alone. Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! And THEN Ramano makes a move on Corday! What a crock! Do they think the viewers are THAT stupid? Well, sorry, this isn't a TV thread!!

OK, on the Practice, I loved how they showed a loving midwife (she looked just like one of mine!!), and a woman able to labor and give birth without being covered in drapes with her feet in the air, blood all over the place, etc. When I was at home, I DID want to be laying down to push. It felt so good to me, but my midwives asked me to move to the birth stool b/c I was all "catty-wompus" Super cute. That was a better position anyway b/c I felt so strong, and my husband was behind me, holding my hands, and pushing right along with me. What a sport.

OK (last one, I promise). About Dharma. I just saw the episode with Abby playing midwife to the check-out gal. I must have missed the epidural line. What I heard was when the woman was in labor abby and dharma brought her upstairs. While passing kitty (d's mil) kitty said, "why is she having her baby here? Why isn't she in the hospital" to which Abby replied, "Why? She's not sick?" Loved that plug for birth not equally illness and emergency! And it went great, with no screaming!

And BTW, Ricki has done a show on home birth. It was last year after her 2nd son was born, but I didn't see it, only heard about it. And Cindy Crawford was an "expert" guess for like the first year of her son Presley's life (or was it her dd?), promoting home birth, breast feeding, slings, lots of fun stuff! I just LOVE knowing that powerful women in Hollywood are homebirth (or at least natural birth) advocates. Maybe they are influencing they're friends, and that's why we're seeing more shows about it. Man, I've seen three in the past month, and that's more than ever! And isn't birth always a catastrophy on TV? Either that, or it lasts five minutes--anyone see Phoebe birth her triplets on Friends?! Hillarious!!

Sorry to ramble, but y'all are mixing my two passions in life (besides my fam)--Homebirth and TV!!!!!!! I'm an addict!

Emily

[MysticHealerMom]

You're cool, Emily!

Incidently, the line in Dharma abt the epidural was during the one where Abby has a baby. There was a big deal abt Abby finding "the perfect midwife" and Dharma wanted to be her moms mw. In the hospital (?!) Abby is yelling (gad) and Dharma and the mw are arguing and ignoring her (that part was pretty funny) and Kitty comes in and says, Get this woman an epidural! And the doc (!) comes in and says, who's the midwife here? And Abby said "she is!" Meaning Kitty. Gad!!

Cheers,

The TV freak...

ps TiVO ROCKS