One Born Every Minute - will you be watching?

[MarathonMama]

I know it's slightly sad strange to admit but I love One Born Every Minute and can't wait for the new series to start tomorrow.

I'll be watching even though I'm 30 weeks pregnant and it's bound to put the fear of god into me, will you?

MustControlFistOfDeath Channel 4 releases some of its shows to youtube and One born every minute is one of them, try to see if you can open this website:
www.youtube.com/show?p=vZQETlh5v6E&tracker=

Haven't decided if I'm going to watch it yet. It inspires a really self-pitying sadness in me that I never managed to give birth properly. I did the labour bit (31hrs and 38hrs) and am on first name terms with most forms of intervention, but have had two emcs. That bit where the baby whooshes out and the mother sobs with joy and relief and adrenalin. That bit. That's what I wanted and I now know it won't ever happen. I also don't really like the accompanying threads on here. Because largely it's lovely and chatty but there's always somebody with a barbed 'gawd she's making a fuss' or 'if she'd only do x' and I always get a bit frothy and ranty about how you should never judge another woman's experience of labour and delivery. But of course it's edited to encourage us to do just that.

Dear God no! Why would you want to watch someone going through that?
shudder Doing it myself (3 times) was bad enough. No way I'm going to watch someone else endure it.

Yes Yes I will be watching it avidly. I love it. I was heavily pregnant with DD this time last year and was fixated. I wonder if I will enjoy it so much now I have been through it myself

The threads on here do make me more uncomfortable than the show, I think. But the privacy of birth is inevitably what makes it compelling. A culture of hospital birth means most women without children have never been anywhere near a birth; we saw our own mothers and other women get big, disappear for a few days, then come back with a clean baby wrapped in a cellular blanket. I'm not saying that a TV series is the best way to make birth less of a black hole in our knowledge, but some of OBEM's popularity might be explained in that way.

Shagmundfreud, while agree with you to some extent, I have to say in the show's defence that the cameras are mounted on the walls and ceilings and the labouring woman is hardly aware of them at all. There isn't a film crew there or anything. Obviously they get consent from the ladies beforehand so they know the cameras are in the room but my mw (who worked in Princess Anne, I gave birth there) said they're easy to ignore and you often actually forget they're there at all.

Not that I'd ever be on the programme!

They're obviously done with those hidden cameras - e.g. Like The Family. You are told tha they're there, but you quickly forget and start to act natural.

I take the point about the upset of feeling 'cheated' if you wish you'd had a different birth yourself. My self-interest is kind of the opposite - I want DH to engage with the spectrum of interventions and ways that labour might progress. He's not so comfortable with medical things - and I'd rather spare him too many 'shocks' e.g. If the doctor comes at his wife with salad-tongs-forceps. Everything can feel like an emergency in the delivery room.

UK OBEM is gently educational, always sensitive and I can't recall anything really 'bad' ever being shown. I trust them.

God yes! I was a complete addict last time it was on. But in deference to DH, whose birthday it is today, I'll be recording it to shout at to watch at a later date, so no active watching thread for me.

I'll be watching on 4OD. I loved both series so I'm excited that it's back with some new faces.

Showy If it makes it any better (it won't, I do understand where you're coming from), DS1 was ventuese with a honking great episiotomy and me so numb that I was gamely pushing when exhorted to but convinced that nothing was happening and I never felt that whooosh! relief with him. And DS2 was at home, but it happened so fast that I went into shock for the last part of labour and afterwards. I did feel the whoosh! of him coming out, but not the relief/joy/etc afterwards. I thought I was dying. Couldn't stop shaking and felt no great sense of anything when I looked down at him, because I was too shocked. My MW was very sad about it too. He was absolutely fine, and so was I after I'd had my sugary tea and a breastfeed. But having planned a HB and hoped it would be wonderful (labouring next to the Christmas tree, no less!), I wasn't expecting to feel physically shocked and mentally, a bit numb.

whilst my youngest is now 4 i still adore all things babyand get a nice fix of happy hormones watching it

Last time I watched OBEM was whilst in early labour, in my room on the labour ward in St Thomas's, bouncing on my ball and watching the night sky over Westminster having just been across the road for sushi and a walk down the South Bank. Happy memories...

This time I will be watching it as an acid test to see whether I can face going through labour again! We are thinking about a possible DC3 next year.

Reshape

But that does help a bit. Though I do wish you hadn't felt that way iyswim. I'm guilty of setting up this false dichotomy of cs = numb, natural = immense natural high and it's blatantly wrong. And after emcs #2 I did have a whooooosh of feeling but later on the ward.

I was transfixed - also got hooked whilst I was pregnant - i much prefer being in the know about what to expect and as I went to a brilliant daisy birthing class I wasn't scared at all - can't wait, will be chucking the husband out of the room (he can't stand it!) and putting it on series link too!!

I'm sad I won't be watching this year and echo some other posters. Last year I was all excited and nervous thinking I was letting myself in for the experience in 2011. One year on, with abdominal surgery planned to remove a whopper fibroid and being told I will never have a vaginal birth as a result, I think it would make me very Even though I've always been scared of labour, I always thought I'd do it ifyswim. But, first things first.. and enjoy everyone else. I think dh was secretly disappointed when I said I wouldn't be watching this year!

There was a lady on the CLAPA (Cleft lip and palate association) forum who was having her birth filmed for this series. Her baby was diagnosed with a cleft lip at the 20 week scan. She agreed to have the birth filmed to raise awareness of cleft lips and palates. Am very interested to see that episode, not too bothered about the rest, I suppose it depends on the situations that they show.

Is this series filmed in Leeds General Infirmary? DD is treated in the Clarendon Wing where maternity is and they had signs on the doors about filming happening for this. I'm nosey as when if I have another DC, that's probably where I'll be doing it.

Checking the CS facilities in case I want to opt to go elsewhere .

Showy, I feel just the same. Watching it whilst pregnant it was the bit where the mum met their babies for the first time that I loved and had me howling. I saw mine for the first time in a phitograph, and then through an incubator side. I first held my Ds properly 8 days after he was born.

Even worse for me is the bit where the dads meet their first born, and the pride they show. Dh saw his by text message! I see tonight's episode is about dads who may or may not make the birth... I'm just guessing for telly purposes they will. I would have to be a total masochist to watch tonight's but probably will cos I'm soft like that!

I'd better not...DC3 is 4 months old and totally adorable (we were meant to be stopping at 2DC). I may see all the lovely babies and the magic of it all and want another.

A discussion of the day!!! Why am I excited about that?

DH is flatly refusing to watch tonight so I'm hoping that if I agree to take the Christmas tree and decorations down I might get away with watching it without him. Otherwise it will be on Sky+ for a later date

shagmundfreud

Yes, I agree- I liken it to trying to push out a poo in front of room full of strangers. You just couldn't!

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I'm the same as you in that I had a completely natural birth, but it was almost too quick- I didn't get any whoosh of love afterward etc, just shock and a 'eh, what just happened?!'

I'm not sure if I'll watch the new series- I didn't watch the last one coz I was pg, and the MW at the birthing centre I went to said I should just watch some 'natural births' on youtube.

Cailin - I wonder if women unconsciously respond to having the birth filmed. The knowledge is there - just because they're not conscious of reacting to them doesn't mean that they're not reacting to them, if you know what I mean.

After all - it's our 'lizard brain' that's crucial in labour, rather than our higher cognitive functions....

I know it wasn't the topic of the thread - but I am also reassured to hear that a quick natural birth can lead to a shocked aftermath and no lovely 'give me my baby immediately' rush. My first birth was only 1 hour 9 mins from established labour (and 3.5 hours from first contraction) and I shook for half an hour afterwards. My DH held the baby until it wore off - but I had nightmares afterwards and always feel bad when friends talk of skin to skin contact and the 'woosh' feeling.

Though I have enjoyed previous series, this one may hit me a bit harder...