Birth in the Media

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Why do you think the media protrays birth so unrealistically?

Do you think shows like Baby Story:banghead:, Maturnity Ward etc do more harm than good?

I'm curious to hear from everyone, as OB nurses I'm sure you guys have a speacial perspective.

Please forgive the crappy spelling, coffee shots are kickin' in, LOL!:eek::smokin::D

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I would answer your question by turning it around and asking, what does the media portray realistically????

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Specializes in OB.

Those shows are the bane of my professional existence! (Okay - only a slight exaggeration).

I cannot count the number of times I've asked a patient if she took childbirth classes only to have her respond "No, but I watched a Baby Story every day!" and have actually had a couple inform me "That's not the way they did it on A Baby Story".

I've tried to tailor my responses to the individual's level of understanding, but have been known to tell them "You do know there are no editors in real life, don't you?" and explain that doctors only hang around the OB dept. all night waiting for the healthy primip to deliver when there are TV cameras involved.

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I personally love those shows and it was maternity ward who inspired my niche in nursing. :)

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Hey I went into nursing because of ER. Maybe the show is silly but here I am...

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I watch them with a grain of salt; or else I find my self screaming and throwing the remote at the T.V. Why is birth potrayed (inacurately) the way it is on T.V ? Because people like drama, not many would want to watch the birth I was at the night before last (other than the pit for PIH) which was almost 100% natural. NO flashing lights, no buzzing of warning from monitors, no OBs branding scapls to "save the day"...personally I don't get it...I loved that show House of Babies on Discovery channel (think they are all reruns now), all the others make my blood boil.

Let us bring them into harsh rooms with bright lights. Let us make them lie on their backs on hard narrow beds. Let us tether them to machines so they cannot move. Let us make them stay silent and make no noise with their pains. Let us expose their most private parts and threaten them with cold steel. Let us make them push their babies upwards, against the pull of the earth…In these conditions, labour swiftly becomes unbearable and pain relief becomes a woman’s only hope…This is not the natural cry of a woman in labour brining a child to birth., although if you have only ever witnessed childbirth in a medicalized setting you might be forgiven for thinking so. This is the screaming plea of a tethered animal in pain.
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bagladyrn:

LOL, my sister was like that, she said that watching all those shows for nine months qualified as "education"

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I think maternity ward is one of the worst! It even has the creppy music thing going on! I saw one episode a few years back where the dr did an episeotomy after the woman said no, and the baby wasn't even in destress, she just wanted the baby out NOW! Hearing the woman scream as she was being cut was enought to make me sick!

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I cannot count the number of times I've asked a patient if she took childbirth classes only to have her respond "No, but I watched a Baby Story every day!" and have actually had a couple inform me "That's not the way they did it on A Baby Story".

I was first assisting one of my docs on a c-section yesterday, and the patient asked us in the middle if we were almost done yet. We told her no, and she actually said "but it doesn't take this long on A Baby Story."

:smackingf

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I also am along the lines of trying to stear clear of those programs as much as possible......I loved them before I became a labor nurse, but now it is complete frustration and as whoever said above, I end up and yelling and talking back to the tv....not worth my frustration at home as well! One that I do enjoy watching is (I can't remember the name!) is about the Miami Maternity Center...it is a mifwifery school and practice and it seems to be pretty informational regarding natural child birth and non-intervention! Check it out!

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Specializes in Postpartum, Lactation.

I'm actually more bothered that I have never seen a single woman breastfeed on A Baby Story. They will have the post interview in their home and every single one of the babies, if being fed, is being fed with a bottle.

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Specializes in LDRP.

I think some of the shows make it all look too easy, and some of the shows make it look too rough. Namely, Babies: Special Delivery makes it look so hard. They turn everything into a potential emergency. even natural childbirth-the lady could become fatigued and that could be dangerous!

Or one, they said the baby's heartbeat was erratic (dont remember what show) and the baby could be in distress. What did they show, but a view of the monitor when it is searching for the heartbeat and shows the crazy numbers, 90, 240, 70, blipping all over the place searching. No little heart pic blinking beside it, so clearly NOT the babies heartbeat.

I would like to see later what teh moms have to say about how tv portrayed their experience.

One thing I do like is the babies:special delivery where they give you an update on the baby at the end.

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