Something popped up on my facebook newsfeed from the Mirror and I just had to have my say on it because I'm clearly in that type of mood today. It's about the very popular Channel 4 show called One Born Every Minute, if you haven't seen it then you've most probably heard of it before. I love it and think it's a great show although my partner Michael doesn't like it and won't watch it with me - that's his choice!
A therapist called Charlotte is asking for people to sign a petition calling for Channel 4 to ban the programme or at least portray a more balanced view of childbirth - the second comment I agree with but to ban it - completely disagree!
Charlotte said that she is finding increasing numbers of pregnant women are going to see her that are scared by the programme which to some extent I can understand but on the other hand, if you're pregnant for the first time just don't watch it or realise it's a TV programme - they're going to be picking what they think are the 'best bits' for tv unfortunately these aren't always positive reflections of birth but not everyone has a perfect positive birth and that is fact.
This photo shows me laying down while being monitored... for 3 hours before I was walking up and down the ward. That in my hand is my tens machine.
The programme is not somewhere for 'information', that's using it incorrectly, it's just a programme. For information - see your midwife.
I love the idea of home births - perhaps one born every minute could feature some of those to show a better picture of different types of births.
If you watched me in labour with my first, you'd of seen a young girl have a fairly easy labour but placenta getting retained and then being hooked up to machines as they were worried I was having a heart attack at 20 - would that scare you?
If you watched my second labour you'd see me eating brownies one minute - yummy ones from sainsburys and then the next minute everyone running in being rushed off to theatre to have an emergency C-section under general anaesthetic because I had a cord prolapse - that's life unfortunately things can go wrong and that's the truth! I was living that nightmare but my point is when it come to me being in labour, I wasn't giving any other woman I had seen on a tv programme a second thought!
Charlotte mentions that she "did a lot of work to clear out her subconscious fears about birth so that when the time came she felt very confident' .... 'I had a wonderful experience both times.....' ....'I didn't need to ask for help.'
Well let me tell you - I wasn't scared at all, my mum has had 8 children and I amazed her in labour with my first. But guess what it went all wrong with my second and guess what I didn't ASK for help I NEEDED help and without it my baby wouldn't be here safely. That doesn't make me less of a woman.
Being positive is good, don't get me wrong!
One born every minute has shown us a good insight to the reality of the maternity ward! some go brilliantly, some need help, some go terribly awful but they're real and having a baby hurts, you can't sugar coat it.
The vote that is currently up on the mirror page suggests that most people are with me on the opinion it should not be banned. What do you think?
I say keep one born every minute!
Mary-Kate, x
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