Jezebel: Labor

The Ladymag Labor System is Fucked

Olivia Fleming — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:40:00 EST

We're all well-versed in the predictable shenanigans of The Devil Wears Prada. It's really no secret that assistants in the fashion and media industry work long hours, slogging away well into the night to complete menial assignments dished out by their superiors with little or no thanks, and some of the time, little or no respect. But to be fair, that's their job. Heck, many would say they're lucky to have the job at all. They get paid to "start somewhere." Interns on the other hand, do not. And this, it seems, is where the lines get blurry and lawsuits get filed. More »

Should Women Get To Choose C-Sections?

Anna North — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EDT

Even when there's no medical reason for it, some women prefer to give birth via C-section. But the procedure is riskier than vaginal birth. Should doctors comply with women's wishes, or make them do what's safer? More »

Woman Goes Into Labor, Finishes Bar Exam Anyway

Irin Carmon — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:25:00 EDT

A woman just took the Illinois bar exam while in "active labor," and not only did she finish, she gave birth to a healthy baby less than two hours later, according to Above The Law. More »

Goodbye, Mancession. Hello, He-Covery.

Irin Carmon — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:30:18 EDT

Today's jobs report for June managed to stun economists with its overall shittiness. But separate numbers suggest that what recovery we have made disproportionately benefits men. More »

Is Target Losing Its Cachet?

Jenna Sauers — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:05:00 EDT

The president and C.E.O. of Target, Gregg Steinhafel, fielded question after question about his company's $150,000 donation to an extremist right-wing group at Target's annual shareholder meeting yesterday. Several of Target's biggest investors, including some large pension funds, protested outside the meeting. Women's Wear Daily reports that Steinhafel "sound[ed] embattled and annoyed" by the questioning. "I think we've sufficiently addressed that topic," Steinhafel replied to an investor who asked how Target could have "such an enormous blind spot" as to not research the extremist anti-gay group, Minnesota Forward. "We listened, we evolved, we have the right processes," continued Steinhafel. "Does anybody have a question related to our business that's not related to political giving? I'd love to hear a question related to something else." [WWD] More »

What The Division Of Housework Does To Your Stress Levels

Irin Carmon — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:20:26 EDT

According to researchers who observed 30 dual-earner couples in Los Angeles with at least one child aged 8-10, women are screwed. More »

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, 100 Years Later

Sadie Stein — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:07:00 EDT

Laughing Gas During Labor Making A Comeback

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:53:00 EST

Most US hospitals stopped administering nitrous oxide to women in labor decades ago, but the best thing about the dentist's office may be making a leap back into the maternity ward. A prominent hospital has decided to offer mothers to be the option to laugh their labor pains away, and new equipment designed to deliver the goofy gas to women during labor is about to hit the market this summer. If given the choice, mothers, would you have chosen to use laughing gas during the birth of your children? More »

A Miner Celebration

Lauri Apple — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:30:34 EST

[La Paz, Bolivia, Janary 22: Female minders celebrate the fifth anniversary of Bolivia's Evo Morales' government and the first anniversary of his second term in office. Image via AP.]

Today in Sexual Harassment: Suggested Threesomes and Forced French-Kissing

Lauri Apple — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:00:31 EST

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just won a $1.26 million verdict on behalf of women grocery store workers who'd claimed that the store manager created a sexually hostile work environment. Many of the women were teens when the harassment happened. More »

Mom Bikes To Hospital During Labor

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:15:00 EST

After going into labor, 41-year-old Susie Weber bicycled one mile to a Wisconsin hospital. Weber had already biked to 10 of her prenatal appointments and says, "[I] enjoyed every minute of the ride, even when I was having a contraction." More »

Another Reason You're More Likely To Have A Cesarean

Irin Carmon — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:02:58 EDT

Of all the complex factors that go into having a cesarean birth, one California report finds evidence that one influences than the rest: whether the hospital is non-profit and for profit. C-sections bring in up to twice the revenue. More »

Scandal-Plagued Celebrity Midwife Strikes Back In Court

Irin Carmon — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:23:49 EDT

Celebrity midwife Cara Muhlhahn—made famous by Ricki Lake's documentary The Business Of Being Born—is suing New York magazine for $1 million for libel, we've learned. This comes as Muhlhahn fields her own malpractice lawsuit, after a stillborn birth. More »

Real Housewives Of New Jersey: Special Delivery

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

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On last night's episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, we got to see Teresa's labor and delivery process. She put on lip gloss, requested blood diamonds during her epidural, and apparently tried to shave her "chucky." More »

A Moment Of Silence For The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Sadie Stein — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:20:00 EDT

Today is the 99th anniversary of the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist fire, which resulted in the deaths of 150 garment workers, but also had the effect of arousing public outrage and helping to galvanize the nascent labor and women's movements. [NewYorker] More »

Keeping Up With The Kardashians: A Reality Star Is Born

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST

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On last night's season finale, Kourtney gave birth to her son Mason, and the cameras were there to capture it all: Her water breaking, her pre-labor makeup application, and finally, pulling a newborn baby out of her own vagina. More »

Vegas "Stripper-Mobile" Comes Under Criticism • Woman Arrested While In Labor

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:30:57 EST

• Did you know there was a such thing as a "Stripper-mobile?" Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. But some people are worried that driving around in a clear plastic truck while pole dancing may not be safe. More »

"Don't You Just Love Your [Insert Ethnicity] Nanny?"

LatoyaPeterson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EDT

"When $800 strollers hit the market a few years ago, it looked as if baby status symbols had reached a new odd, capitalist apex. Now[...] primo credentials trade in a different kind of capital: nannies." Specifically, the brown-skinned kind. More »

Male Midwife: Women Need Childbirth Pain To "Prepare" for Demands Of Motherhood

Anna North — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:30:00 EDT

Professor and midwife Dr. Denis Walsh says moms-to-be get too many epidurals these days, depriving them of the important character-building effects of agony. More »

20/20 On The Joys Of Labor Pains, Breastfeeding First Graders

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST

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Friday's 20/20 delved into several wacky subjects concerning the birthing of babies, including our old favorite, orgasmic childbirth (clip at left). As OB-GYN Christiane Northrup explains, a climactic labor is just basic science. More »

So, Wait: There's No Point To The Pain Of Childbirth?

Sadie Stein — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:20:00 EDT

As you may have heard, having a baby hurts. Natural childbirth advocates have long argued for the lemonade benefits of labor pain, claiming that it adds to the experience and can even result in sexual pleasure and aid in the hormone release that helps a mother bond with her baby. However, a new study, discussed in Salon, suggests that in fact the excrutiating hours of pain are really a vestigial response that serve no actual function. Great; let's go tell that to Milla Jovovich, who just spoke about her 72-hour labor! So why does everybody still hurt? More »

What Should Jezebels Really Expect When They're Expecting?

Jessica G. — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EDT

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There are so many dirty little secrets about giving birth that don't get shown on the silver screen. I still remember the combination of revulsion and awe I felt when I discovered that many women shit themselves during labor. Revulsion because, ew. Awe because of the wondrous inner workings of the female body! What To Expect When You're Expecting has been the book to buy in debunking these "secrets" of pregnancy since it was first published in 1984. The fourth edition is set to be released next month, and, according to Publishers Weekly, the update includes, "expanded sections on working during pregnancy, expectant beauty, preconception and fatherhood. The chapter on eating while pregnant is more realistic than ever." We're all about keeping it real here at Jezebel, so the childless whores on staff are wondering: what kinds of things should women expect while they're pregnant that probably didn't make it into the book? More »