Disclaimer: This is a social commentary piece complete with humor, sarcasm and personal opinion all fused into one. Please don’t send me a million comments about my insensitivity or my anti-pregnancy antics etc., as that may not actually be the case.
Serial Surrogates, Orgasmic Labor, Home Birth and Late-stage Breastfeeding…that’s the summary of last Friday’s 20/20 special on ABC. I was stuck on the couch with a head cold and since we only get what the bunny ears pick up, I found myself watching in horror as the 20/20 news anchors told the stories of a bunch of pregnant wackos women.
What initially grabbed my attention was the segment on orgasmic birth. Not because I’m interested in having one (I’m not interested in getting pregnant, period.), but because I’ve mentioned it on this blog before. When I first posted about orgasmic birth, as my blog simply states, I didn’t know how to react. And in watching the 20/20 coverage of the birthing technique, I still don’t.
Actually, that’s not true. I do know how to react to the idea of orgasming while popping one out, or at least how I did react to the idea upon second analysis: EWW! Birthing a child i.e. ripping apart reproductive organs while simultaneously bringing a human into the world, is not sexy. It’s not hot. It’s not erotic. It’s not something I want to associate with the sex I had to get to that point. The sex was hot. The sex was erotic. NOT the aftermath err afterbirth. Gross!
During the hour program I probably spent 20 minutes with my jaw dropped and 20 minutes with shutters of disgust running up and down my spine. As if the orgasmic birth ideas weren’t enough to turn me off ofthe program all together, they had to throw in a segment about breastfeeding.
I watched video of a 9-year-old girl sucking from her mother’s tit. I don’t care how much love is in the family, or how much the act is one of nurturing compassion. It’s disturbing. And I can’t help but think that late-stage brestfeeding will inevitably have repercussions on the child later in life. If breast milk is all you can provide your child then by all means, go right ahead. But if you live in the developed world where resources are available, do you really think it’s necessary?
One last thought before I try to block out the program all together:
Why is 20/20 running an hour-long program about the joys of pregnancy?
Don’t they realize teen pregnancies are on the rise in the U.S. thanks to abstinency-only education programs failing to follow through on their missions? It’s not smart to promote pregnancy as this wonderful, light-hearted right people have. It’s not a right, it’s a luxury. It’s a huge deal to bring a person into the world. It’s not all orgasms and glow. It’s expensive, it uses resources and it’s a responsibility not to be taken lightly.
So 20/20, when are you going to do a show about contraception, responsible family planning and childless adulthood because that’s my demographic.