Really??? Does Obstetric Violence have Comedic Value?!

I recently re-watched Friends with Kids ( Jennifer Westfeldt, 2011) a romantic comedy about two friends choosing to have a baby together because neither of them have met their  "special someone". I first watched it years ago and I had obviously blocked out the birth scene as it was a whole new world of horror for me this time. Typical pregnant- comedy style hospital birth scene where fun is poked at the woman with a birth plan....ha ha isn't it hilarious how women have plans?!!

Are you laughing yet? Wait for it.... doctor face-in-vagina tells us baby is crowning and asks for the scissors. Birth partner turns to him and says firmly that mum wants to be back in the dating pool soon and therefore wants to tear naturally rather than be cut. Doctor looks at the birth partner with a raised eyebrow and a dont-be-so-stupid look on his face and proceeds to cut the birthing woman.

We know that there has been a battle raging in the U.S for a long time with regards to consent in the birth room with many women demeaned and even assaulted by hcps which is utterly tragic in itself but when the hell did it become ok to encourage audiences to laugh at the issue? Perhaps Kimberley Turbin's obstetric violence case which this scene resembles somewhat is just too raw in my mind for me to see any comic value in a scene such as this or even see how others could find it. OR maybe, just maybe we shouldn't joke about obstetric violence at all?? I mean, what the actual fuck??!


Emma Culley-Morgan
Positive Birth Educator and founder of Awesome Mama Antenatal
AwesomeMama.co.uk
Awesome Mama Facebook

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