Baby Story

[judecorp]

Oh. My. God.

So sometimes in the morning, as if to punish myself, I put on "A Baby Story" while I'm doing my general morning things. And this morning's woman is having a water birth, and she is SCREAMING and crying and begging and moaning and FREAKING ME OUT. She keeps talking about how she can't do it and she's going to die or whatever and umm... *gulp*.

I really need to stop watching this show. Dude.

Comments

[cider.livejournal.com]

1) Stop watching that show. Dude.
2) I have a crush on this particular userpic.
3) Read Ina May's book. It's good stuff with positive stories.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I love the positive stories much more than tv stuff. But really, what ELSE is on at 9am when you're chowing the cereal and trying to pick up the house? Besides, listening to that lady scream is a HUGE motivator to go clean up!

Dude. It's Friday! On Friday, you and I can imagine that we are going to be dignified ladies in labor.

[cider.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, delicate princesses from beginning to end of our birthing processes, I'm sure. Forget screaming bloody murder, I intend on cross-stitching a pillow and mewling out "Ooh, heavens. That smarts," while in the throes of labor.

[whuffle.livejournal.com]

Oh man does that statement ever rock. I'm so tempted to make all the pregnant chicks in my life an icon out of that statement.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the sipping of tea. And crumpets. Certainly there must be crumpets.

[skatured.livejournal.com]

Yeah stop watching the show. I used to watch only for the first five minutes to see how long the couple was together and what their wedding attire looked like before changing the channel. Two weeks ago, I gave it another shot but had to switch after listening to an entire family and woman whine about whether or not she should have an epidural for 10 minutes.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well usually I am not even really listening to it because I am running around the house, but she was screaming so much I couldn't avoid it!

I like to see the differences between the epidural births and the natural births... but I think I need a better spin on it than the show likes to give people. :)

The screaming woman, though? She had an epidural with her first pregnancy but then couldn't feel her legs or walk for SIX WEEKS! Crazy!

[amyura.livejournal.com]

Seriously. Don't. Watch. That. Show.

We have enough natural freakout during pregnancy as it is. The birth industry exploits that.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I know, I know! I don't usually pay attention, I just couldn't avoid the screaming!

[bafleyanne.livejournal.com]

My advice: don't watch Baby Story EVER. I always either ended up yelling at the TV because of the stupid stuff the nurses were saying, getting depressed because it seems like no one breastfeeds on that show, or else being freaked out like you said. So yeah don't watch, it's bad for your blood pressure. :)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry - I don't take Baby Story as fact. I actually get pretty cheesed at the show as well. When I'm watching it, that is.

But yeah, I like when they have natural stuff though because that almost NEVER happens on that show.

[aminahfiddler.livejournal.com]

well i agree with everyone else... But, then I get sucked in when I turn it on. Thankfully steve is around more and he makes fun of me so I can only sneek it in when he's not around.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think if Jen was home she would make fun of me for watching it. But really, I need noise at 9am and what else is on?

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

Eh, they probably gave her a dollar for everytime she made it sound unbearable. ;-)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh dude, sign me up for that! I can yell loudly and I need money!!

[afullmoon.livejournal.com]

I watched it all the time when we were trying to conceive the moment I found out I was pregnant I couldn't watch.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

You are a smart woman. Seriously.

[anitsirk.livejournal.com]

having a baby hurts. a lot.

but!

not being scared and feeling well-supported and safe make it hurt less, i swear.


stop watching those shows. their labors will not be your labor and you don't need their baggage coming with you to your birth.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Man, you would know. You've had some babies!

I really do hope I get that nice birth that I am imagining in my head. I know that people rarely do, but still, it would be nice to have something go my way.

Hey, small steps - I don't watch any of those "Special Delivery" or traumatic birth shows anymore. :)

[sassywoman.livejournal.com]

For me unmedicated = worst pain ever. I couldn't have made it w/o my epidural.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well, I am keeping my options open but I'd really like to give it a good go. We'll see what happens. :)

[estrange.livejournal.com]

I won't lie to you, without an epidural it is the most unbelievable pain you have ever felt in your entire life. I thought I was going to die too. I can't even describe it. With Devin I had an epidural and it was much nicer! Still, I'm kind of proud I got through Maia's labor without it - of course that wasn't by choice!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I know. It's funny because you can't possibly imagine or prepare for an unimaginable pain, you know? So confusing!

We are taking this totally hippie-fied birth class and hopefully I will get some good info there. And then I will go in with an open mind and just do my best.

I don't really do medicines and stuff and so the idea of an epidural scares me quite a bit. My friend had an epidural and they must have done it too high because she couldn't feel her lungs and thought she wasn't breathing!

[estrange.livejournal.com]

Yeah the epidural freaks me out too. that's scary your friend couldn't feel her lungs! When I got mine, I couldn't move my legs at all and they were tingling. Ryan had to hold one leg and the nurse had to hold the other. It was kind of annoying. I also got leg craps/pains from it - like when you lie in one position forever and don't move.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh, that would freak me out, too! I am kind of a control freak and don't think I would like the idea that I couldn't feel parts of my body. Of course, we'll see what happens when the day comes. :)

[estrange.livejournal.com]

oooooppps maybe I shouldn't of said that. I wasn't trying to freak you out more. If I did, sorry!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh no, you're fine. No sweat.

[jeney.livejournal.com]

OH I KNOW! I watched a video at the birth center and I was fine until the girl said, "oh it burns!" and i was like, "oh that's right! This is going to hurt!".

BUT! you will do SO AWESOME! even if it hurts and you scream. You will have a baby!

don't watch any more baby story shows! they all go throgh labor!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like to live in a pleasant state of denial. I don't even think about that stuff. Just happy things!

I am ready to scream!!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know that one way or another it will work out and we will have a baby! (That will be fun!)

I don't know what it is about that show. It's terrible, I /know/ it is terrible, yet I can't stop watching it. I made myself stop watching those "Special Deliveries" and "Birth Day" shows (the ones on Discovery that have more complications) when we lost the other baby, though. So I do have SOME sense!

[laserkitty.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend getting an epidural...then you don't do that shit.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'm open to an epidural if I can't stand it, but I'd really like to give it a good go without. I think that for me, it would be incredibly empowering to know that I did it.

We'll see!

[mtgirl.livejournal.com]

I second that! I loved Ina May Gaskin's book, as well as Birthing From Within -don't know who it's written by, but it's true about the the birth culture in the US. We do nothing to encourage women that this is something our bodies were designed to accomplish.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

We have Birthing from Within here and I read parts of it. I like the actual birth parts but I don't quite think I'm hippie enough for all of the birth art aspects of the book - so I skip those.

I really want to have a natural birth but I don't want to tap into my inner birth goddess or cover my house with my birth art. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle of the hippie continuum!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion. I ordered that plus two books my doula recommended. We'll see how they are.

I've read enough good stories from friends to know that it's possible, it's just a scary prospect. It doesn't help that the media likes to jump on all of that ridiculousness every chance it gets.

At some point, I need to come up with some "how to take care of a newborn" info, because umm... yeah. Clueless. :)

[mtgirl.livejournal.com]

I do think the most important thing is feelings well supported during your labor.

Childbirth is unfair in a way, because we are inundated with information before the fact: visuals, books, the internet, everything, and while it is nice to have the shroud lifted, it takes away from those feelings that you CAN do it. And, I think it's much worse wondering about it and trying to prepare for it, than it is to go through it.

Once you are there and in it, you will find the strength you need, no matter what you choose. Often we only hear people's horror stories and not the ones that may go differently than expected, but still are amazing.

You can absolutely do it!

(I could wax on about childbirth for a long...long...time)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's definitely true that we only hear the horror stories, and that people love to share their horror stories. And there are lots of non-horror stories. But I think I have pretty honest friends, and the stories they tell are true, even the traumatic ones. It's hard to have some sort of perspective.

I was a lot more sure about the whole thing until we had our really unexpected and incredibly medicalized first trimester. Now I feel like I'm much less inclined to rule ANY experience out, you know? Things didn't exactly start the way I thought they would.

[antiopa.livejournal.com]

Support is definitely key. I wouldn't have made it through without our doula. She was able to keep me going and free up K to be supportive and not have to worry about remembering labor techniques.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really like our doula and think she will be a good asset! :)

[evewasframed.livejournal.com]

Someone at work told me about her!!!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Dude, it was CRAZY. I mean, I have the show on a lot in the mornings while I'm puttering around the house, and I have never heard anything like this woman.

I wonder how she feels about all of that being on television.