New Lifetime Series Resorts To Mocking Natural Childbirth

Last night’s premiere of Lifetime’s One Born Every Minute—filmed at a busy maternity ward in Ohio—focused on mothers’ decisions for pain management. It’s edited in a way that made those who opt to go natural look like morons.

It was infuriating to watch as women were admitted into labor and delivery and were immediately pressured by nurses to get started on Pitocin—which was treated as a routine step in the labor process—but not informed of the drug’s potential (and numerous) risks. Also, Pitocin, meant to speed up labor, makes the pain much more significant, leading to additional interventions like pain meds. One voice-over interview during last night’s episode laughed at women who refused epidurals, likening it to going for dental work without Novocaine.

So by the time Steve and Susan—the crunchy couple in the clip above—came in to labor and delivery with their doula and multiple copies of their birth plan in tow, the stage had been set for them to look like hippy idiots. The next 24 hours of Susan’s labor was edited to make the couple appear to be total weirdos for taking showers together and moaning in tandem through contractions. The nurse on duty clashed with the couple, implying that Susan doesn’t know what’s best for her body, and then literally saying that the couple is insane.