Does anyone else get pissed off by the way in which childbirth is portrayed on the TV?

[MissJoanHunterDunn]

Or can anyone vouch for having had a birth just like Dawn's on Eastenders - i.e. on your back with legs akimbo?

I mean, fair enough if you have had an epidural or a medical ailment (like SPD) but does anyone else think that the portrayal of childbirth on the TV has become grossly antiquated and TV producers need to become a little more up to date?

[mytwopenceworth]

I love it when they do it in full make up, with not a hair out of place, don't break a sweat and the baby comes out washed, dressed and 3 months old!

[MissJoanHunterDunn]

Oh god, yes, those ones...

[colditz]

Both mine were on my back with legs akimbo.

[castille]

Nope, sounds just like my first 2 births in France!

[jofeb04]

I was the same as well.

[tiredemma]

I literally had each foot behind each ear, and has an episiotomy- you never see them giving those out on the tv do you?

[REIDmylips]

i thought it was ok, was very similar to the birth of ds tbh

[TheArmadillo]

3 pushes and its out while barely breaking a sweat.

No nasty bodily fluids spilling out and marking the furniture.

No placenta.

And the baby always comes out clean and polished.

It doesn't piss me off - I find it funny.

[BellaBear]

Or what about Phoebe giving birth to triplets on Friends?

makes me laugh

[MissJoanHunterDunn]

Colditz and Castille, mine were too - because I had epidurals... but up until the epidurals I couldn't imagine anything worse than being on my back, and a lot of other people I know say the same.

I'm certainly not saying there's a right and a wrong, because I'm hardly the queen of natural birth but from what I have noted people usually don;t go on their back these days and I just wondered if it was TV producers being out of touch with the unglamourous world of childbirth!

[melpomene]

TV births are almost always so quick that the woman barely makes it to hospital, or doesn't make it to the hospital - even if it's a first birth.

And the mother has a flat belly in the next scene...

[Hulababy]

Wouldn't make for great TV though for a more real birth - would last the whole week's episodes at the evry least! Mind would have been mindboggling boring for the most - lots of laying around, under the influence of all manner of medication, with still nothing happeneing. Not great viewing I think!

[Egg]

I had no epidural, and I was in exactly that position. I was kind of stuck there, even though I said in my birth plan I wanted to be up and about. I lay down when I arrived for them to monitor DS's heartbeat, and never really changed positions. I didnt think it was very unrealistic.

[TheApprentice]

Those of you who are as old as me, cast your mind back to when Daphne gave birth in Neighbours. She managed to do so whilst wearing trousers!

[MissJoanHunterDunn]

I remember Daphne's birth - wasn't it by a lake too? What on earth did they do with the placenta?

[JodieG1]

I gave birth 3 times like that. I tried all the positions but each time either it wasn't comfortable or I needed to be in that position for the sake of the baby. I had as natural as possible births as well but that's just the way they turned out. I was pushing on my knees with ds2 but had to get back on my back to help his heartrate as it was dipping in any other position.

[TippiHedren]

I had both mine like that and was also very pissed and giggly on the gas and air and was singing into it between contractions along to the radio!!

[ELF1981]

Two of my friends had their first babies in under 3hrs of labour, both on the pen from what they told me.

I can still giggle over tv births etc because I have so far only had a section!

[kickassangel]

also agree they make it all happen far too quickly, like you suddenly fall down & need an ambulance. i know ALL sorts of births happen, but they rarely show one that has mum saying 'yes, it's day 3 & i'm getting a bit tired'.
on 'coupling' it was reasonably ok - starting really slow & steady - got sent home - went back in - built up to obvious pain - and it was clearly happening over an entire night.

also gat v fed up with 'baby cry' sounds whenever a baby/young child is meant to be in the house - my dd rarely cried, i don't see that they need to pretend babies cry all the time - really annoys me.

[mistersmum]

The other unusual thing about TV labours is being able to get in to your local hospital for your delivery and having a midwife there for the whole of their 5 min labour!!

[divastrop]

the thing that i didnt understand was how dawn seemed to be in control of whether she wanted to push or not.i have only given birth 5 times,i admit,and the last time was 3 whole months ago,but i'm pretty sure that when i had a 'push' contraction,there was no way on this earth i could stop it happening.yes,i could maybe control how hard i pushed(well,with the first 4,no.5 just fell out really),but i certainly didnt choose when to push

how come nobody ever gets induced and spends 3 days walking around the hospital waiting to go into labour in soaps?

[luciemule]

Don't laugh but I thought it seemed very life like - not really like my labours/births but acted very well I thought and could have real birth potential!

When she looked at the baby, her expression really did look like it was her own baby.

I knew someone who reapplyed her makeup during labour at hospital, whilst relaxing watching EastEnders - so perhaps it's like that for some people!
Carly's singing was very unrealistic though and I'd have slapped her much earlier on!

[luciemule]

oh and also found it strange that EastEnders actually did the pregnancy in real time whereas they usually speed things up - Dawn was 2 weeks further than my SIL, who has been comparing it to her pregnancy in time.