Video of a Hospital birth (looks like in the 80's) - Page 4

[cottonwood]

I think it's wrong and disprespectful to use this woman's birth as an example without her consent.

Are you saying that because we don't know if she gave her consent for it to be put up there? Well, none of us should be looking at it then, either. I assume you watched it? Wouldn't that in itself be violating her privacy?

I agree with you in any case. It didn't occur to me that someone would have essentially stolen it from her, but that could very well be the case. If I'd known that, or considered that, I wouldn't have watched.

Not that we know, but say she did give her consent... well then I don't see it as being any different as commenting on A Baby Story or the numerous birth videos around. If someone puts it out there, I have no responsibility to them not to point out the harmful aspects of what I see. The opposite, actually; I feel I have a responsibility to others viewing it who may not understand what they're seeing.

I would be absolutely HORRIFIED and feel completely violated if I were to discover that my birth experiences were publicised

I would also.

and used in such a way and that people who watched responded with shock and disgust, completely disregarding the awsome work I had done in giving birth in the first place, and not commenting on the amazing baby.

I wouldn't, as long as they were valid observations. There is much that was wrong that occured with my first birth, that if someone were to see it and express outrage, I would find that validating.

Sometimes there are valid reasons for epesiotomies

The only "valid" reason for episiotomy has to do with a dysfunctional birth process created by environment or birth attendant.

and scaring women away from the option by exploiting and sensationalising the birth experience of one unwitting woman is doing a disservice to all involved.

The disservice, on the contrary, is to imply, by failing to speak out against it, that the sort of practices represented on that video are normal and fine. They are not.

[MamaTaraX]

I think it is an amazing video. I like to give the benefit of the doubt and Assume the woman gave consent for it to be on the internet. I assume also that she at least knew it was videotaped. You have to give some good credit to to the fact that she's not in stirrups Where does it say she had an epidural?
WHo is to say this woman did not completely enjoy her birth, episiotomy, pulling, and all? She sure looked elated to me. I think that a lot of people are reading their own perceptions into the video.
My computer is messing up, so my comments stop here

Namaste, Tara

[Viola]

I just wanted to come back to this thread and add to my earlier post about how this birth video inspired me to watch my own. My husband videotaped ours (poorly), and he put it all onto a dvd, but I didn't really want to watch it until seeing this thread. Honestly, I didn't think the birth in the video linked here was as bad as some are making it out to be, although I did have a lot of nervousness when I first started to watch it. It's hard to see a woman in the throes of labor surrounded by fully dressed, non-laboring people who have power over her. But I find that difficult in all the birth stories like that that I watch.

I had a homebirth, and I ripped and the shoulders got stuck a little and the midwife had to help pull her out. She was bloody and in my video she looks pretty floppy. Basically, birth, at least mine, are just not all that pretty, and I felt there were a lot of parallels. I wasn't sure what I would find when I started watching mine, however, since I couldn't see all that was going on and wasn't aware of everything.

Having watched parts of mine numerous times since yesterday, I'm actually thrilled and excited to have that moment captured on video, and I'm sorry I don't have my first daughter's birth on tape also. But I'll leave Youtube birth videos alone from now on, since I don't know that the woman giving birth consented.

[cottonwood]

Originally Posted by MamaTaraX

WHo is to say this woman did not completely enjoy her birth, episiotomy, pulling, and all? She sure looked elated to me.

But that's not the only issue. I mean, I'm sure if my traumatic mismanged birth had been videotaped, it would have shown me looking elated too. (Elated that it was over, that I had persevered through it, that my baby was here and healthy. And then, the endorphins. Ahhhhh.) The fact still remains that I was unnecessarily harmed, and the baby could have been harmed too.

Who in their right mind, knowing it was unnecessary and harmful, would be happy about having their genitals cut up and their baby handled roughly? I'd guess this mother didn't know these things, and maybe still doesn't know it. Does that mean it doesn't matter?