An hour later the baby is born. According to Hollywood, birth is dangerous and only doctors can make it safe. Not much has changed in the past fifty years. Even the most independent characters can't successfully give birth without Doogie Houser perched between their legs. Newspapers, books, and magazines are no better.
Pregnancy is always a disease, and birth is always traumatic and excruciatingly painful.
Rarely does the media portray pregnancy and birth in a positive light - or laboring women as confident and capable. Sure, there are smiles to be had after the child is born, and certainly there are smiles during conception. But pregnancy and birth are sheer hell. Below are some quotes I've collected over the years about pregnancy and birth in the media. A woman whose memory of labor is still vivid.