Forums  •  Classifieds  •  Events  •  Directory

 
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

If You're Going To Give Birth, Watch This

  1. #1
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    1,623

    If You're Going To Give Birth, Watch This

    The Business of Being Born





    Also see here.

    “Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a
    spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been aware …
    To such a woman childbirth is a monument of joy within her memory.
    She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too soon.”

    ~ Grantly Dick-Read (Childbirth Without Fear)

    Mother of Two
    JMW, boy, born November 29, 2007, 9:43 pm, USA
    MJW, girl, born March 17, 2011, 4:14 pm, HK

  2. #2
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    1,623

    Full documentary found here.

    “Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a
    spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been aware …
    To such a woman childbirth is a monument of joy within her memory.
    She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too soon.”

    ~ Grantly Dick-Read (Childbirth Without Fear)

    Mother of Two
    JMW, boy, born November 29, 2007, 9:43 pm, USA
    MJW, girl, born March 17, 2011, 4:14 pm, HK

  3. #3
    Gracey is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    534

    Hi Thanka, I'm glad you posted this. Even though I'm not brave enough to do a home birth with no drugs, I watched the whole thing.
    This documentary made me even angrier (than I already was) with the way my first doctor tried to frighten and bully us into a C-section when I was just barely pregnant -- 5 weeks! The day of my BFP! He used many of the same arguments here -- natural birth wasn't safe, it wasn't convenient, etc. He warned my husband that he would be putting "his wife at risk." (I love this mano a mano talk -- like the Monty Python guy says, as a woman, I'm not "qualified" to make these decisions! :)
    Then his nurse pressured me to book C-section right away -- 8 months in advance. She also tried to scare me with stories about how I'd never get a hospital booking otherwise.
    I'm not as skeptical of the medical community as these women are. I will deliver in a hospital, and I have no problem with other women choosing C-sections.
    But the more I think about it, the more I believe many doctors here are downright dishonest when it comes to pushing C-sections. If my first doc said, "I personally prefer C-sections, but there are pros and cons to both. If you want a natural birth, please go to another doctor." Well, at least that would have been honest.
    But to paint all natural birth as some backwards, dangerous act?
    It's good to see a different perspective on things -- that, while medical intervention is great for emergencies, maybe it's used too much.


  4. #4
    banane76 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    478

    DEFINITELY watch this...such a good doc.


  5. #5
    newmoon88 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    5

    Dvd

    I have a copy of it on DVD if anyone wants to borrow it...highly recommended - even my husband loved it and got him on board pretty fast for a natural birth.


  6. #6
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    1,623

    That's great, newmoon88. My husband also really thought it was a great film and inspiring. I was in HMV in Central about 4 months ago and they also had that film available on DVD in the documentary section there. :)

    “Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a
    spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been aware …
    To such a woman childbirth is a monument of joy within her memory.
    She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too soon.”

    ~ Grantly Dick-Read (Childbirth Without Fear)

    Mother of Two
    JMW, boy, born November 29, 2007, 9:43 pm, USA
    MJW, girl, born March 17, 2011, 4:14 pm, HK

  7. #7
    ozmerc is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    95

    I have the DVD too...it's very eye opening to the way a birth could be, instead of the fear and sense of medical emergency that is perpetuated around birth in our culture. If anyone has the Home & Health channel, there is a plethora of programs depicting birth as something that is painful, scary and must be attended to immediately by doctors, or it will all go wrong. Just about every woman on the programs are having inductions or c-sects (probably because it's easier to schedule filming around planned events rather than spontaneous birth) but it presents only one view - which is that of the medical establishment. It strikes me that the women in labour are always shown as powerless victims. No wonder so many women are petrified of giving birth naturally. If that's all you ever see of birth then it makes it a heck of a lot easier for a doc to talk you into an unnecessary c-sect!


  8. #8
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    1,623

    Very true, ozmerc. Actually, the promotional video clip talking about the baby programs on TLC literally says: "the fear, the pain, the agony..." when referring to birth and shows an overweight woman looking helpless and saying, "Get it out, get it out." What a "great" picture of childbirth, eh? And the show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" always emphasizes that "OH MY GOSH! SHE GAVE BIRTH WITHOUT PAIN MEDICATION!" (because the women go into labor not know they are actually pregnant and usually only go to the hospital when the baby is almost born so hence, they don't get to choose to have drugs etc.) Giving birth without pain medication used to be the norm and if you're prepared to do so, most women can do it well. Pain perception is largely a product of beliefs about pain and oneself and one's ability to perform the task at hand. So, the women who only watch these ridiculous shows are getting that message drilled into their brains over and over again and then they believe what they see and hear--no wonder they go into birth with a mindset that sets them up for being helpless. It actually makes me very sad.

    “Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a
    spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been aware …
    To such a woman childbirth is a monument of joy within her memory.
    She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too soon.”

    ~ Grantly Dick-Read (Childbirth Without Fear)

    Mother of Two
    JMW, boy, born November 29, 2007, 9:43 pm, USA
    MJW, girl, born March 17, 2011, 4:14 pm, HK

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. What happens after you give birth in public hospital?
    By Shenzhennifer in forum Preparing for the Arrival
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 01-24-2011, 02:23 PM
  2. Thinking of returning home to give birth
    By ozmerc in forum Hong Kong Pregnancy Forum
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 11-30-2010, 04:12 PM
  3. Where to give birth in HK?
    By KateHK in forum Hong Kong Pregnancy Forum
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 07-20-2010, 01:45 PM
  4. Moving, About to Give Birth, No HK Insurance!
    By 0ze_Kid in forum Moving Forums
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 08-12-2006, 12:04 PM
  5. Where to give birth? Hong Kong or U.S.
    By airay in forum Hong Kong Pregnancy Forum
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 02-17-2005, 10:53 PM
Scroll to top