Extra Credit

Compared to the women in the The Business of Being Born, the relationship between the woman giving birth and the doctor/nurse in a hospital in One Born Every Minute, the power rests in the "professionals." In TBBB, the power is shifted onto the woman giving birth. In OBEM, the relationship with the nurses, the ones that are taking care of the patient the majority of the time, starts when the woman comes into the hospital to give birth. The nurses are assigned to the woman, the woman has no choice about the interaction. This was important because one of the women, Carisa, actually got along well with one of her nurse, Christina. She hadn’t given birth yet when the nurse when Christina got off her shift, only for this woman to now get assigned a new nurse, one she has never talked to before, during the hardest part of her labor. When the epidural stopped working on Carisa, the new nurse was seen in a shot resting in the reception desk, instead of being in the room with the woman. This is completely different than the relationship that was depicted in TBBB, where the midwife was there for the woman in labor throughout the whole process. Being able to have a relationship with the person(s) that will be aiding you while in labor, not just their partner, seemed to have a more positive atmosphere.

When the women in TBBB gave birth, they were the ones (if in a tub) to help pull the baby out themselves. If the midwife helped the newborn out, after birth the newborn was immediately placed in the mother’s arms.  Compared to in OBEM, where the Athia’s newborn finally got out of her uterus, it was raised in the air, like a scene straight from The Lion King, for a quick glance from the mother, and then quickly taken away to be cleaned, weighed, etc.

Also, the reaction of the mothers in OBEM to their newborns varying from the mothers who gave birth naturally, were completely different. The women, who gave birth at home with a midwife, got to hold and spend time with their babies immediately. The look on their face was complete exhaustion, but complete and utter joy. They looked utterly entranced with the new life that they had introduced to the world.  The teenage mom, Jenna, actually looked away from her newborn when she gave birth. On her face was complete exhaustion, yet she made no effort to even look at the baby. The father was depicted holding the newborn, while she laid on the bed with her eyes closed.

OBEM depicted women’s bodies and childbirth as something that needs intervention. Women in TBBB are portrayed as strong, and as childbirth as one of the most empowering things a woman can choose to do. 

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