The topic I have chosen for my essay is childbirth. Childbirth is vastly different in real life than it is presented on TV. There are so many ways in which it is different, I don't even know where to begin.

    Of course, there is the all-too-common scene where a perfectly fine pregnant lady suddenly has her water break, goes into instant labor, and pops the baby out in the back of a taxi. It is so rare that that actually happens. It does happen occasionally, but labor is usually long and slower than that. It's also uncommon for the membranes to spontaneously rupture, it's much more common that they break during labor. There's also the idea that women go insane during labor and turn into sadistic maniacs wanting only to punish their husbands by yelling "you did this to me!" and squeezing their husband's hands until the bones snap. Again, this probably does happen from time to time, but it is not the norm. In fact, birth can be quite peaceful. Women who experience a natural birth, often in the form of water birth and/or homebirth, often report a euphoric feeling of bliss that helps them through the pain. Alternatively, women having medicated births in hospitals often have an epidural to help them through the pain. They don't all become screaming maniacs!

     Now, what is the harm of these inaccurate portrayals? Well, I guess other than leaving people with unrealistic ideas of what birth will be like they aren't really harmful. But there ARE some parts of real childbirth that are overlooked on film and TV which can be harmful. TV shows and films always show that beautiful moment after a baby is born when the mother falls instantly in love (and again, this often happens! I was lucky enough to have peaceful births and an easy transition afterwards, myself), but this doesn't happen for every woman. Some are too busy bleeding/being stitched up/recovering from days of labor, some feel disconnected from their babies. They love them because they are supposed to, not because they have actually bonded yet. Some are over whelmed by the Baby Blues, and others sink into severe Post Partum Depression. Two of my dear friends who I know are loving and adoring mothers suffered from PPD and had a hard time bonding with their babies for months. It's a sad reality that is overlooked by the media, which makes the women suffering from these conditions feel ever more ashamed and alienated.  Not to mention the fact that it is unrealistic to expect immediately after the birth to be handed a perfect, cherubic three month old, fully alert and smiling and cooing, as we see on TV. In reality, you're going to be getting a slimy, bloody, tiny little alien-looking thing. It's not glamorous, but it's true!