EPIC FAIL for Lifetime...

Tuesday, February 1, 2011


10:26 p.m.
I was very excited to watch "One born every minute" on Lifetime, which started at 10 tonight. As I'm watching it, I'm getting more and more pissed off.
Woman #1 came into labor and delivery told the nurse that she wanted a natural birth. The nurse continued to mock her and spent 5 minutes trying to convince the patient to get an epidural. She told the woman that at some point, she would break and ask for one.
Woman #2, a couple came in with a "rigid birth plan" which meant that they wanted to do things naturally and with as little medical intervention as possible. The nurse (in interview) disclosed that she didn't want to work with the couple. That she knew they were going to be "difficult". She was apparently one of the only nurses that approved of natural delivery.
Patient #3, who chose to have an epidural, said that women who didn't get them are "crazy". "If you went to the dentist, you would get pain meds." She got an epidural, couldn't push effectively because she couldn't feel anything, but eventually got the baby out.
I already do not like the tone that this show sets, but we'll see how the rest goes.

10:31 p.m.
Patient #1, who is doing things naturally, is laboring on her own, while her boyfriend and mother are sitting on chairs asking what is taking so long, and eating cheetos. A new nurse on call is trying to convince her to get an epidural. She succeeds, and the patient chooses an epidural. (I don't mind people choosing an epidural... it just bothers me when they're bullied into it.) She now faces complications because of the epidural, and ends up having a c-section.
Woman #2: The couple who came in with the "rigid birth plan", is now being mocked for using the shower for pain relief, using a "doula" (said sarcastically by Jamie Lee Curtis, the narrator), and making "too much noise" (a continual, low-toned moaning sound).

10:42 p.m.
Couple #2 has been in labor for 13 hours. The couple is mocked once again for using low moaning tones, as circus-themed music plays. (I swear they want every woman to be completely silent, and deliver within 6 hours.) Nurse is pissed because the patient doesn't want to lay in the bed, and wants to be on her hands and knees instead. She then gets her to lay on her side, and goes on for awhile about how she was right. Then says it's like "pulling teeth" to try to get this patient to have meds and says the baby is "stressed". Doctor comes in and says the baby is fine, and they can continue laboring as they please.
The nurse is asked by the husband to "be positive" because she's stressing out the patient. The nurse tells him that the way they're laboring is putting the baby in danger.
(It sounds to me like the nurse is pissed that the patients aren't doing EXACTLY what she suggests, even when the doctor is fine with their plan. If this happens while I'm in labor, heads are gonna roll.)

10:54 p.m.
My Mom comes in the room. I tell her how pissed I am about this show. She tells me to stop watching it. (Probably good advice). She then tells me that she agrees with the nurses, and there's no way I can go through labor and delivery without an epidural. Good times.

10:56 p.m.
Patient #2: 18 hours of labor. Nurse is telling her that she "has to get back in bed so that she can be checked". Husband refuses for her. Nurse gets pissed because the patient wants the midwife to check her instead. Midwife reccommends pitocin, the patient agrees. The nurse goes off shift saying that she's "happy her shift is over", and she is "hurt" but the couple's choice to not listen to every word she said.
Patient reaches 10 cm and delivers a beautiful baby girl, pain-free, their way, and after 24 hours of labor.

Show is over until next week. I may watch it again... but it definitely won't be a priority.

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2 comments:

Rachel Gabrielle said...

I don't know if i've mentioned this or not, but I'm very much so pro your choice to not have the epidural. I forget about this a lot, but when my mom was having Leo (her first) they gave her wayyy to much pain medication and it basically almost ended up killing / making my brother mentally retarded... If i remember the story correctly it had something to do with the medicine reducing so much feeling and control over her muscles that then he was stuck for a long time in a weird position or something and lost a lot of oxygen. I'm not 100% sure though, b/c i haven't heard the story in a long time. (That's why my mom then had Sarah at home and if the laws hadn't changed would've had Joel and me at home & naturally too).
Just letting you know, from my perspective, making the BEST decision for little bean.

Laura Lee said...

Thank you very much. People in the mid-west can be so square. They all look at me like I'm crazy for going with a natural birth. They just give me this "knowing" look and tell me that I'll end up getting an epidural anyways. Apart of me (selfishly) just wants to do it so that I can prove to myself that I'm capable.

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