The topic of many of our blogs has been about how teens are uninformed. The film "The Business Of Being Born" showed us that teens aren't the only misinformed moms and moms-to-be out there. We have all watched episodes of teen mom where young women receive pitocin and epidurals but none of them are shown researching these drugs. We have also seen the episodes where the doctors are not even present until right before birth. I don't know about the rest of you but I certainly cleared up a lot of misconceptions this week. Here are a couple of backup references to support the class reading and film:
1) http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/breast_bottle_feeding.html
This article talks about breastfeeding vs. formula but one of the first lines says that breastfeeding is better for the baby.
2) http://www.firsttimepregnancy.com/262.html
This article looks at the location selection for birth. Just as in the film, this web site says that avoiding interventions is extremely difficult in hospitals and most of the people entering and leaving the room are strangers.
My real question is: why is the show 16 & pregnant not highlighting these important issues? Is this kind of information not as important as showing the relationship between teen mom and dad? Is a conversation about what type of birth control that the teens used/didn't use more important than one about how to raise the child? These questions are never-ending in my head, what do you think?
Megan Z
I think in 16 and Pregnant the lack of discussion on where and how the babies will be born has a lot to do with the location of the teens. In smaller towns there are few or no resources to have a home birth. I also think that in some instances the age of the woman having the baby may put them at a higher risk than an older woman. Doctors may be concerned with the lack of development of their body to have it anywhere but a hospital. On the other hand being a pregnant teenage brings on enough stress and issues that whether to have a home birth or hospital birth (like we have seen) maybe the only thing they totally feel comfortable with since the rest of their lives are making drastic changes.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding is never (to what I’ve seen) been showed on 16 and Pregnant. It makes me wonder if it is because breastfeeding is an intimate act between a mother and child that MTV is uncomfortable showing it. I remember a few years ago there was discussion in my house on whether or not it was appropriate for a mother to breastfeed in public and being on TV maybe the reason we don’t see a mother breastfeeding.
MTV is targeting an audience that feeds off conflict and drama. Therefore MTV may use only the material the stirs the biggest argument among the families. I would hope that these questions are asked among the teens on 16 And Pregnant but not shown are air because of the lack of drama. I would hope that these discussions are taken seriously and be a thoroughly educated decision whether it is because of the limited resources or personal beliefs. MTV unfortunately has allowed enough time to show a small percentage of the choices mothers have to make when raising a child.
Kristi H.
16 and pregnant does not show every aspect of becoming a parent and all that you must go through first. Secondly I have to agree with you Megan on how know one really knows the affects that these drugs have on their bodies and their babies. I have a friend who just had a baby and received the epidural and had to come back because the spot where they inserted it began to leak. To me i feel like society has taken away the whole point of child birthing. The whole point of a natural birth. It just shows how weak woman are becoming because at one point in time there were no during nor birthing centers. There were no induced labors or planned births. One thing that I can say if the birthing drugs would disappear today and a natural birth is all that you can have, the teen pregnancy rate might not be as high. But that's just a though.
ReplyDeleteIndia M.
There are numerous issues and concepts that are left out the show 16 and Pregnant. The issue of the lack of knowledge on contraception is just the beginning. I feel that most teen girls/ all girls don't consider researching all of the options to birthing, nor research their options. It seems as if most people just "go with the flow" when it comes to birthing; you feel contractions, rush to the hospital, get an epidural, and let the doctor do the rest of the work. Personally, I think that if most teen girls new or saw the pain and possible complications that come with giving birth they wouldn't be so tempted, or careless, towards the idea of having a baby. The media has numbed the reality of giving birth, therefore many young girls are unaware of all the options and choices that they have prior to going into labor. The show 16 and Pregnant is not helping on the matter either; even though this is the perfect show to emphasize education on birthing.
ReplyDeletePortia K.