Tag Archives: childbirth

12 Reasons I’m Obsessed With “Call The Midwife”

Jessica WakemanApril 28, 2013 //
I'm A Doula
Miriam explains how she helps women through childbirth as a doula. Read More »
Midwife Mantra
"Suck up the pain and deal" is midwife Denis Walsh's mantra. Read More »
Men Do Childbirth
Watch these men experience child birth. Watch »
MUST WATCH!
call the midwife

If you have been in a one mile radius of me anytime in the past few weeks, you have probably heard me tell you all about how I love “Call The Midwife,” mention I’m going home to watch “Call The Midwife,” or suggest you watch “Call The Midwife.” That is because — yup — I am obsessed with the PBS drama “Call The Midwife.”

The premise is this: Jenny Lee (actress Jessica Raine) is a 22-year-old midwife in the 1950s hired for her first nursing job in an impoverished section of London’s East End. She’s had a privileged, sheltered upbringing and the poverty she sees in Poplar is like nothing she’s ever experienced. Nurse Jenny lives at  Nonnatus House, a convent run by nuns who are also nurses, with three of her other 20something midwives: Nurse Trixie is the house glamour girl who loves boys, dancing and gossip; Nurse Cynthia is the thoughtful, quiet one, and Chummy is a gawky, awkward nurse from a titled family who is an embarrassment to her parents but finally finds a place in life working amongst the poor.   Keep reading »

Watch This: Men Find Out What Childbirth Feels Like

Winona Dimeo-EdigerJanuary 22, 2013 //
Craziest Pregnancies
crazy pregnancy stories
This woman claims she got impregnated by a 3D movie. 8 Photos »
The Pregnancy Test
A brief history of pregnancy tests, prior to peeing on a stick. 11 Photos »
Vagina Mishaps
Beware these vagina accidents. 11 Photos »
Just breathe through it, buddy!

In the latest experiment for their show “Guinea Pigs,” Dutch TV hosts Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno were hooked up to an electro-simulator that mimics the painful contractions women experience during labor. The video is in Dutch, but around the 7-minute mark, it becomes very clear that agony is a universal language. Apparently the guys underwent two hours of simulated contractions, which is significantly less time than the 6-12 hours (and beyond!) that many women spend in labor. Also? I’d imagine the whole process is a bit less harrowing without the whole “pushing a watermelon-sized human out of your crotch” part. Mothers, give yourselves a pat on the back. You deserve it. [YouTube via Truth Dig]

Mommie Dearest: Let’s Give Pregnant Kate Middleton Some Space

Avital Norman NathmanDecember 7, 2012 //
Kate Is Pregnant!
kate middleton pregnant
Buckingham Palace has finally confirmed the princess is pregnant. Read More »
Kate Hospitalized
Kate Middleton
The princess has "acute" morning sickness. Read More »
Morning Sickness
morning sickness
His wife has the same acute morning sickness as Kate Middleton. Read More »

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, then allow me to be the first to share the breaking news: Princess Kate is pregnant! Now feel free to join in with the rest of the world as it goes absolutely completely bonkers in reaction.

I understand that a new baby, especially one of royal lineage, is a huge deal. And sure, I’m also super curious whether the wee-one-to-be is going to have a head full of shiny, chestnut locks like his or her mother. But honestly? The most I can muster up for Kate right now, beyond my heartfelt congratulations, is my deepest sympathies. Keep reading »

Illinois Woman In Labor Votes Before Going To Hospital

Jessica WakemanNovember 6, 2012 //
Today's Lady News photo
  • Now that’s dedication! Illinois mama-to-be Galacia Malone stopped at her local voting station to vote while her contractions were still five minutes apart. Once she voted, she dashed off to the hospital to give birth. Amazing. [ABC News]
  • Women in the military say that sexual assault is still very much a problem. [New York Times]
  • How a Tea Party-affiliated group is targeting transgender voters. [Raw Story] Keep reading »
Election Night Drinking Game!
Let's all get drunk and bite our nails together! Read More »
2012 Election
All of The Frisky's posts about the 2012 election. Read More »
Politicians On Rape
A handy guide to what various old white conservatives have said. Read More »

Woman Gives Birth Alone On The Subway At 1:30 A.M.

Jessica WakemanJune 28, 2012 //
I Had A C-Section
This mama tells what it is like to give birth via C-section. Read More »
Drinking While Pregnant
Celebs caught in the act. Read More »
Birth Safety
What's more safe: childbirth or terminating a pregnancy? Read More »
Eating Placenta
Questionable Beauty And Hygiene Tips From Celebrities
January Jones ate her baby's placenta. 15 Photos »
Women We Love
woman gives birth to baby on subway photo

I am proud of myself when I kill a spider without bursting into tears and shrieking. So I can’t imagine what it must be like to give birth on a subway car. Alone. In the middle of the night. But that’s exactly what Wanda Dueno, 24, of Philadelphia did two nights ago. While visiting family in New York City and heading to her sister’s house at 1:30a.m., Dueno started going into labor. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Abortion Is Safer Than Giving Birth, Says Study

Jessica WakemanJanuary 24, 2012 //
  • Abortion is safer for American women than giving birth, according to a new study published yesterday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. A woman is about 14 times more likely to die during or after giving birth than from complications involving an abortion. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, anti-abortion protesters who claim all abortions are unilaterally dangerous for women. (Of course, we are talking about legal abortions here.) [Reuters]
  • Women were only five percent — I repeat, only five percent — of directors in the top 250 grossing films of 2011, according to a study released today from San Diego State University. Overall, women comprised 18 percent (less than one-fifth) of directors, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors on such films. [Chicago Tribune]
  • Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, won’t allow an LGBT club called Reach OUT to exist on campus because the club does not honor “the biblical conviction that sexual activity should be reserved for a husband-wife relationship,” according to the school newspaper. [LA Weekly] Keep reading »

Eating Placenta? It’s Mmm-Mmm-Good!

Jessica WakemanAugust 23, 2011 //

Eating placenta might sound like the most hippie of hippie-dippie pursuits. But if an article in New York magazine is to be believed, eating your afterbirth (or placentophagia) is trés, trés chic. In Western hospitals, placenta has traditionally been disposed of alongside medical waste. Some women would ask to take their placenta home with them — either to eat it or to plant it in their yard — but hospitals could refuse to hand it over. Several states have since enacted laws requiring a hospitals to fork over the placenta if a new mother wants to take it home. This is good news to the ears of “professional placenta preparers.” Mostly women, these folks usually have backgrounds in working as doulas and/or an interest raw food or vegan food. Many professional placenta preparers disintegrate the placenta into pill form, but there is also talk of placental shakes and placental jerky. (Apparently the placenta needs quite a bit of spices for flavor.)

But the question is: is eating a placenta good for you? Keep reading »

Tilda Swinton Says That Giving Birth Is “Murderous” Business

Kate Torgovnick/Kate-Book.comMay 13, 2011 //

“In movies, and particularly in television films, when people have babies they are sitting in a hospital room and there are flowers everywhere. They are made up, magically, and they have a baby in their arms and it’s all really lovely. They start getting pink baby clothes… [Giving birth is] a truly, truly murderous business. It’s violent. And if one doesn’t embrace that, if one can’t embrace it — and it’s really tough to do that — then you’re up a gum tree because it means you’re going to be cutting off a whole part of yourself.”

—Tilda Swinton, who has teenage twins, wants to make sure we know that childbirth isn’t all rattles and itty bitty sneakers. Is anyone else out there terrified by this quote? Moms out there, please weigh in on whether your experience matches up with hers. I’m hoping not. [Telegraph UK] Keep reading »

Deaths From Pregnancy And Childbirth Decline Worldwide

Annika HarrisApril 17, 2010 //

Researchers have reported a significant decline in deaths of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth worldwide. In 2008, about 342,900 women died from complications associated with these conditions, whereas in 1980, 526,300 women died. Several factors have contributed to the improvement — fewer pregnancies in some countries, higher incomes have led to improved health care and nutrition, more educated women, and increased availability of medically-skilled persons caring for pregnant women. Even though these new figures are a welcomed improvement few can argue against, their publication has caused conflict between science and maternal health advocacy organizations, who fear the information will divert attention and foreign aid from their causes. Experts, however, say the groups needn’t worry because the decline in maternal deaths will help them. [NY Times] Keep reading »

Man Goes Through Simulated Childbirth To See If He Can Handle The Pain

Nikki DowlingOctober 15, 2009 //


We’ve all heard the old women-versus-men pain threshold debate. It almost always goes the same way. A man in the middle of a crowded bar raucously boasts that he can withstand more pain than a woman. Any woman! Then, some gal in his vicinity gently puts down her gin and tonic, peers over her glasses and says, “We go through childbirth.” Finally, an Australian TV show host wants to settle this thing once and for all. With the help of a few lovely ladies, he hooked himself up to a machine that simulates contractions. The nurses increased the duration and intensity of the contractions until … surprise! He couldn’t handle it. After only three hours he called it quits. The show ends with the dude saying, “We have nothing, women win. Men don’t.” That’s right, boys! Keep reading »

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