This morning, the Today Show aired a segment called "Inside the OR" that captured a cesarean live, on the air, for millions of viewers to watch as they got ready for work. The couple profiled chose to schedule a c-section because babies "run big" in their families and the mother was past her due date. As the doctor narrating the procedure explained, these were "two indications that a cesarean section is safer than a vaginal delivery."
What a load of horse poop! I tried to watch the video, but couldn't make it more than 30 seconds in, as the doctor explained each part like the play-by-play for a football game. So I don't know if they captured the mother shaking or vomiting while she struggled to breath through her spinal, as her baby was wheeled off to a different part of the hospital. I didn't see how long the newborn and its mother were separated while a gamut of tests was run.
Not only did this segment perpetuate the blatant lies existing within the field of obstetrics, but it made a complete mockery of what should have been a sacred moment for the family, the birth of their child.
I resented the nurses in my operating room who talked about Twilight after my son was born; for me, it cheapened my experience and reminded me of going to the dentist for a cleaning. I cannot even begin to imagine allowing a film crew for a national news show into the operating room to film the birth of my child. I know NBC is hurting after the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien debacle, but this really propels television to an all-time low. I hope the family enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame.
Interestingly, the baby born today weighed in at 10 pounds, definitely on the larger side, but not unheard of in vaginal births. In fact, my mother gave birth to a 10 pound baby, as did my mother-in-law and doula, both naturally and in the comfort of their own homes. And I'm willing to bet there wasn't a single video camera around.
