"A Baby Story", does it irritate you?

[pumpkinhead]

I started watching this (and I use the term 'watching' loosely) a few years ago and the more I see it, the more it irritates the crap out of me! Not only do the women in these shows tend to go for EVERY birth intervention the hospital is serving up (not all but most women),but I've only EVER seen two where the mamma's are shown breastfeeding! Now, granted, I don't know what's in the bottles they're giving their babes, but it really bugs me that this is supposedly seen as 'the norm'.

Holy Hanna already! Where is their room for breast feeding advocacy in a world where all the 'real families' on T.V. are using formula??!!

AAAAaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!:

[OhMel]

Ever since I became enlightened, I can't watch it anymore. It just makes me so MAD. It's amazing the amount of anger I can feel just flipping through the TV. Luckily we killed the cable so now I only get the thrill when we're over someone else's house.

[scbegonias]

I can't stand 'A Baby Story' or 'Maternity Ward'. We don't have cable, but I watched part of an episode of Baby while traveling and then caught Maternity when visiting friends. I couldn't stomach the entire episodes...they made me so frustrated and pissed off.

[shelley4]

yup, it bothers me too.. so many women end up with c-sections on that show! and most are for the doc's convience, IMO..

i have only seen 2 homebirths on that show, but most get pictocin, episotomy, internal fetal monitors, confined to bed... etc, etc.

[majazama]

I've seen the show afew times, and when I did the women in the storys were pushing so hard to get their babies out, they were definately not helping themselves. Actually, my grama saw it with me and commented on it that..... yeah, but don't push too hard, cause you'll get hemmerroids. She's had 5 babies, so she would know.

[girliemama]

I absolutely cannot watch it. I tried a couple of times and ended up yelling bad things at the tv and throwing shoes. It wasn't worth the aggravation.

[pumpkinhead]

THANK GAWD!!! Every time I broach the subject with my IRL friends, they always respond with"Oh, I just love that show, although it freaks me out....etc, etc' and I wanna and . So, I refrain from my tirade.

Seriously tho, it makes me wanna yell and throw things too! My husband says irritating things to me like "Well, if it bother's you so much then don't watch it"...well, yes, but then what will I have to complain about? Who will yell at the tv women and tell them what buttheads their docs are?. It's like....it's hideous but yet I can't look away. I think I have a problem? Help?

[wombat]

These shows are really interventionist but I actually found them quite helpful in my situation. I arrived in the USA already 3 mo pregnant knowing nothing about the US hospital system or pregnancy so it gave me a crash course in what to expect. Forewarned is forearmed I think. Plus I'm a really visual person so seeing an intervention makes it much easier for me to understand than if some Dr. is trying to explain it to me.

I do really hate the voice overs though - the "Carol is having a scheduled c-section due to her previous surgeries". They really simplify things (it's TV...) and make it sound like it's the only option and if she didn't do it, it'd be a matter of life and death (hey it's TV drama...).

The only time I really regretted watching these shows was when I had to have a bloody c-section and I was lying behind that blue curtain and I knew what they were doing cause I'd seen it a hundred times on TV. Ignorance would have been bliss at that point.

[3girlsmommy]

Those shows make me want to scream "pregnancy and birth is NOT a medical condition!!! The doctor is only saving you from the interventions he forced on you!!!" Hello!! It amazes me the number of people that do absolutly NO research about birth and breastfeeding. I had a friend tell me that he and his wife had been preparing for the birth of their child by watching a baby story. I was like oh please just turn that off and read the child birth and breastfeeding books I sent you! Oh well I can't "save" everybody!

[rareimer]

i watched it when i was pregnant. alot. mostly just coz i loved when the baby was born, i loved getting all emotional with those pregnancy hormones.

but even dh noticed that the baby was ALWAYS drinking from a bottle. that's part of the reason i don't watch it anymore.

[spyiispy]

I'll tell you what it is.....

Its like driving past an accident. You don't wanna look....but you almost have to. I feel the same way about this show; but I'm drawn to it, somehow. On the rare occasions I do see a waterbirth or even an (gasp*) unmedicated birth....I feel a bit encouraged. A couple months ago.....they did a story on the lady who does the voice-overs for TLC. She and her hubby were practicing APers and talked a bit about it......that was so refreshing to hear.

Did y'all see that one?

Lisa

[Guava~Lush]

i thought i was the only one!

I HATE the show! I actually used to watch it when I was pregnant! What a dope I was. I flip through it as fast as I can, it irritates me for all the reasons mentioned by all the enlightened ladies.

[velcromom]

Thanks for confirming...

that I am not the only one who just can't watch. At the end I am yelling at the tv, NURSE THAT BABY! LATCH HIM ON ALREADY!!

Ugh, I just can't do it. It's too depressing.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

Originally posted by spyiispy

.....they did a story on the lady who does the voice-overs for TLC. She and her hubby were practicing APers and talked a bit about it......that was so refreshing to hear.

Did y'all see that one?

Lisa

nope, that woulda been a nice change though...

[hahamommy]

Irritainment

...the best word I've ever heard to describe this show!
I confess, I watch it a lot : when the kids are in the room, I do my own voice overs. Hannah, 7, now knows that I will agree to change the channel if there is something *stupid* going on (showing up at the hospital at 3cm and demanding an epidural, scheduled c/s for convienence, bottles at the babyshower, etc).
When Hayden, now 5, was 2-3, he would pretend to give birth I would coach him by saying "not on your back, the baby can't get over your tailbone" He would squat on the back of his toddler chair, legs spread, allowing his sister to catch his baby!
The downside is Hannah thinks childbearing is too painful and doesn't want kids. I keep waiting for the VERY FEW homebirths to rerun so I can show her how those women are peaceful and calm.
Remember the woman who birthed at home because she researched birth for her MA?? She is my absolute favorite one to watch!
~diana

[mamabeth]

A baby story is so santitized, it makes me sick too, especially when they show the women saying things like, "well, my doctor said that because I'm a day late, we need to induce," or whatever.

BUT....I did see "birth day" which is on discovery health and they have a great episode about the birth center in Bryn Mawr where a friend of mine gave birth. It shows an awesome natural birth and the woman nursing an hour afterward, happy, glowing, etc. It's also an interracial couple which I though was great to show too. So there's hope!!

[PurplePixiePooh]

DD and I were watchingthis am and there was a lovely home waterbirth on. It was a great birth and the only time the mama got loud was when the baby came out for the joy of it. I sadly did not get a waterbirth, but I am assuming that it way reduces the pain.

[NoraB]

This show generally irritates the heck out of me! I can't stand to watch woman after woman have a totally medicalized birth. I especially hate seeing all the pacifier and bottle use.

[nemom2boys]

Breastfeeding on TLC

A Baby Story on Animal Planet is much better! My 6 year old son and I watch that one sometimes. I've noticed that they almost always show the animal mamas breastfeeding after giving birth. It is as if that is really the conclusion of giving birth... getting the baby latched on. (Or in the case of a sea mammal, I forget which one, the mom ejects the milk into the water, a little ot here, but interestesting.) I've often wondered why Baby Story on TLC almost never shows human mammals breastfeeding.

Danielle

[Tanibani]

I'm near LA and a lot of episodes are filmed in my area. I know 2 mothers who were on the show.

One by the way, had her first baby at home, in a tub, with a midwife (French husband... they went to a bookstore and talked about the importance of teaching both languages at home.)

BTW, they HATED the process of filming "uh, could we re-shot that AGAIN? Would you mind saying that AGAIN? Could you do it this way?" all day long. They didn't invite them back for their 2nd home, waterbirth.

Anyway, I forget her exact words, because I asked her about this topic (bothers the heck out of me too) and she said that the producers did NOT want to really show breastfeeding.

Ya know... there are so many women across the country (not just MDC posters) who are annoyed by the lack of BFing... we should all write a letter!

I believe they were filmed while their DD was breastfeeding, but they only showed the entire family eating dinner (baby in lap BFing - which you couldn't really see) and when she asked them about it... they mentioned something about the "network."

I can't find her e-mail (exact words). If you want, I can e-mail her again and ask.