SBS: Documentary
The introduction to the US version of this 'documentary' explains:
This ground-breaking series observes the dramatic, emotional
and often funny moments that go hand in hand with bringing a new being
into the world, from the perspective of the soon-to-be parents and
family, as well as the hospital staff".
In the lead photo to the US version of this series, a gloved hand, not the mother's, attempts to feed an obviously preterm infant, while the mother looks on with an intravenous line in her arm. The gloved hand is doing the important work.
The introduction for the UK version of the SBS documentary says this:
I am very bothered by both versions of this documentary. I am bothered because the lead photos (shown above and below) show a version of birth that is a complicated one.The mothers are not at the centre of care, which is where they should be.
That implication is wildly untrue and is a mean, cruel and dangerous association to put into the minds of people. That association undermines women's sense of self and sense of safety around birthing their babies. I know sensationalism is what brings 'ratings' but good grief, preying on people's insecurities is despicable.
I was bothered because the assumption was and is, that the sort of maternity care that was shown in this documentary is 'normal'.
Yes, this maternity 'care' is normal if you think that women in labour should:
That view of normal maternity 'care' is what is at the back of the current wave of anxiety and mental health disorders in our population. How can I claim that? Our culture has been interrupting, disturbing and derailing mother-baby bonding and attachment processes for many decades now. Evidence is accumulating that early experiences shape personality, health and wellbeing. Early emotional experiences have the most profound impact. There is nothing as emotional as birth. The corruption of the most primal and important experience in life, as evidenced in this documentary is startling in the way that such cruelty is accepted without any comment.
I have a very different view of maternity care and what is 'normal' during labour and birth.
In my world, a woman in labour is:
The introduction to the US version of this 'documentary' explains:
"Every minute of every hour, a baby is born. But no birth story
is ever the same. One Born Every Minute USA is an eight-part series
that celebrates what it really feels like to become a parent.
Experience the high drama, humour and overwhelming emotion of child birth as new lives begin and others change forever.
The introduction for the UK version of the SBS documentary says this:
"Every minute of every day a baby is born in Britain. One Born Every Minute is an eight-part series that celebrates what it really feels like to become a parent, by taking a bustling maternity hospital and filling it with 40 cameras.Filming from the reception desk and neo-natal ward to the operating theatre and birthing pool, this groundbreaking new series observes the dramatic, emotional and often funny moments that go hand in hand with bringing a new being into the world, from the perspective of the soon-to-be parents and family, as well as the hospital staff".
I am very bothered by both versions of this documentary. I am bothered because the lead photos (shown above and below) show a version of birth that is a complicated one.The mothers are not at the centre of care, which is where they should be.
The very pale baby being ventilated on the resuscitation trolley implies and transmits a subliminal message that birth is dangerous for babies.
That implication is wildly untrue and is a mean, cruel and dangerous association to put into the minds of people. That association undermines women's sense of self and sense of safety around birthing their babies. I know sensationalism is what brings 'ratings' but good grief, preying on people's insecurities is despicable.
I was bothered because the assumption was and is, that the sort of maternity care that was shown in this documentary is 'normal'.
Yes, this maternity 'care' is normal if you think that women in labour should:
- be apologetic
- be treated like a nuisance
- be told how busy everyone is
- be surrounded by noise: telephones, pagers, beeping machines, talking
- be confined to the bed
- be strapped to monitors
- be left with only their partners and other support people
- have intermittent surveillance
- be attended by a technician that gives pain modifiers as requested
- be spoken to rudely
- be threatened
- be positioned in a way that ensures fetal distress
- have their babies handled roughly
- be separated from their babies
That view of normal maternity 'care' is what is at the back of the current wave of anxiety and mental health disorders in our population. How can I claim that? Our culture has been interrupting, disturbing and derailing mother-baby bonding and attachment processes for many decades now. Evidence is accumulating that early experiences shape personality, health and wellbeing. Early emotional experiences have the most profound impact. There is nothing as emotional as birth. The corruption of the most primal and important experience in life, as evidenced in this documentary is startling in the way that such cruelty is accepted without any comment.
I have a very different view of maternity care and what is 'normal' during labour and birth.
In my world, a woman in labour is:
- continuously supported by a midwife she knows and trusts
- in an environment conducive to optimal physiological functioning - quiet, dimmed lighting, warm, private
- free to move, be mobile and adopt positions that feel right
- spoken to encouragingly
- free to focus on themselves and their babies
- supported by her partner and family as desired
- free to drink and eat as desired
- continuously monitored only if there is an indication to do so
- treated kindly and with respect
- able to expect her baby will be handled gently
- able to have the benefits of skin to skin with their babies at birth
