homebirth in the mainstream media - Page 2

[granola_mom]

Originally Posted by applejuice

did Scully have a homebirth accidentally on X-files?

and Malcolm in the Middle?

Yes, lois in malcolm in the middle gave birth at home. Her son delivered her baby.

How sad that I know this

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by gezellig_girl

These are all great -- keep 'em coming.

Have any of you actually seen 'The Business of Being Born'? I haven't yet, but I was under the impression that's it's about birth in general and not specifically about home birth (although it is featured as an alternative, and, I think, has Ricki Lake talking about it).

Thanks!

It is primarily about HB, and you can watch it on demand at Netflix witout waiting for the disc to be mailed to you, if you have a Netflix membership.

[gezellig_girl]

I'm really looking for portrayals of planned homebirths, not homebirth as a trauma or a comedy gag.

Television, movies, comic strips, whichever; I'm really trying to gather examples of birth that are not the stereotypical "woman screaming in a hospital" sort.

[ColoradoMama]

Well, there was one on Seventh Heaven. It was another unplanned one, but it was portrayed pretty well. I think it was the pastor's sister who went into labor at their house. The one on Dharma and Greg was unplanned, but I thought that one was done pretty well, too. "Doesn't she need to go to the hospital?" "Why? Is she sick?" It was a waterbirth, too. The one on Judging Amy was a planned one, but I didn't see that one. The one on Are We Done Yet? wasn't planned, but Ice T does say, "Your mama's going to get the homebirth she always wanted."

[ColoradoMama]

Here's some other ones:

Lifetime TV's Army Wives - unplanned twins homebirth

Lost - junglebirth

Malcolm in the middle - unplanned homebirth

McLeod's Daughters - homebirth

Blue Healers - homebirth, sort of planned

Around the Twist - planned homebirth

Home and Away - accidental homebirth and possibly a planed homebirth

[paquerette]

Well, Dora the Explorer's mom, but somehow I don't think that's what you're looking for.

[gezellig_girl]

Originally Posted by paquerette

Well, Dora the Explorer's mom, but somehow I don't think that's what you're looking for.

What? No way!

[SusannahM]

Lindsay gave birth on the courtroom floor in The Practice. Does that count?

ETA: Oh, just read your other post. Guess it doesn't count.

[MamaVolpe]

I know the show Charmed had a home birth with Pipers first baby. It was a planned HB with the two sisters being midwives. It is not at all a realistic show but the birth was not bad for a tv show.

My favorite is the show Road to Avonlea, they had a home birth with the character Janet King and Olivia Dale. Both were planned homebirths. Their was an episode prior the the Janet King delivery where all the women were having a babyshower and they were talking about their first births. They were all laughing because of the silly Dr that insisted that the women have their first babies in his hospital. My favorite quote from that episode is "Silly MEN what do they know." when talking about the strange idea of birthing in a hospital. I would show both of those as media examples of homebirth.

If you want a good example of a bad hospital birth, get the clip from Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life". It is right in the beginning of the movie and it really makes fun of the medicalization of hospital birth. I think they do a spoof on a UC birth as well. In that one the baby drops right out on the floor and the mother did not even know she was in labor until it came out.

[MissyLissa]

As previously mentioned, Gilmore Girls had two different episodes with planned homebirths. The first, Sookie's, kind of made fun on homebirth and the midwife was kind of butch and really mean to everyone. The second though, Liz, Luke's sister, was actually portrayed pretty well. They introduced the story by Liz's husband telling Luke that someone had told Liz that a homebirth was the best environment for a baby to be born in, not a hospital. Can you tell I'm a GG freak!! LOL

[Mommy2anangel]

Today I caught a piece of Discovery Health's Adoption story and there was a homebirth on there. I was very happy to see it too.

[ColoradoMama]

There was an unplanned homebirth on Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. It wasn't planned, but from what I remember it was pretty good. The woman was having #7 I think, and it was very fast with no complications or anything like that.

[UrbanSimplicity]

There was one on Law & Order SVU---the mom ended up being a major abuser of her kids (one of which became a murderer.) Lovely.

[mamajojo]

Originally Posted by gezellig_girl

I'm really looking for portrayals of planned homebirths, not homebirth as a trauma or a comedy gag.

Television, movies, comic strips, whichever; I'm really trying to gather examples of birth that are not the stereotypical "woman screaming in a hospital" sort.

There was an episode of the show "Once and Again" which had a nicely portrayed homebirth (overall I thought they did a good job of portraying labor realistically - no sudden screaming and clutching; labor starts gently and slowly and builds over time; by the end the mom is working hard and does make noises). It was a planned homebirth (they even included a scene in which the mom-to-be is arguing with another character who is trying to talk her out of planning to homebirth), but although it was a planned homebirth, the birth ends up happening at someone else's home than the mother's due to a snowstorm (so in that sense, it is not completely without melodrama...some of the tension revolves around the laboring mom not being where she wants to be (in a house with people who do not have a very high opinion of her...I think she is young and PG out of wedlock as a result of being the girlfriend of the ex-husband of someone who lives in the house? I forget exactly...it is the only episode I've ever seen) and on whether the midwife will make it there in time for the birth). Another character, an older mom who lives at the house, sort of takes on the role of doula, supporting and encouraging the laboring mom. It is very touching (and reinforces the idea that labor and birth, while hard work, are not a medical event).

Joanne

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by gezellig_girl

I'm really looking for portrayals of planned homebirths, not homebirth as a trauma or a comedy gag.

Television, movies, comic strips, whichever; I'm really trying to gather examples of birth that are not the stereotypical "woman screaming in a hospital" sort.

All of the hb's in Ricki Lake's film are planned. It's a pretty good movie.