I am not a squeamish person but even so the thought of watching a birth is not something that has ever appealed to me. Its just seems so personal and er, I don’t know something that I should not be watching.
Until I saw this today on Mumbrella. An ad for Sydney based fertility clinic Genea featuring a woman giving birth to support the organisation’s rebranding from Sydney IVF.
I know that it is magnificently photographed and edited and given all the soft touches but I find it extraordinarily beautiful, the most powerful clip I have seen for a very long time.
Yes. I cried and may have ovulated.
Rick and Nat have refused to watch. Jason has asked me to stop trying to force them.
What do you think?
Comments
173 Comments so far
I love this ad, but then I’m a huge fan of birthing videos! The only thing I don’t like is that she’s labouring on her back. It drives me nuts that the images of childbirth we so often see in the popular media depict women lying on their back, which is the absolute worst position to labour in, as it completely goes against gravity and is, for most women, very uncomfortable. It’s a popular position for OBs and midwives because they don’t have to bend down and get into any awkward positions themselves, but any good OB or midwife will encourage you to move around during labour and birth in any one of a number of more suitable positions. It makes me sad that there are people who find videos like this ‘gross’, and is a pretty immature reaction to the most natural event one could imagine.
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I highly recommend all pregnant women and their partners to take a course in natural childbirth and learn how body and baby work together. There is nothing to fear except fear itself!
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Beautiful!
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I’m a Doula and Postnatal Carer so I am privileged to see this every single day. I encourage women to watch birth videos on YouTube as often as they can before their own births. It helps to visually prepare you, makes things a bit more real. And as our society has slowly created birth as a more medical, more taboo event, watching a video is as real as it now gets for most women having their first baby.
As clinical and sterile as this clip is, I still think any exposure to “real” birth is better than what most women and girls see on tv and in the movies.
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I agree with some of the others comments about the music being not quite right.
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Would’ve been better if she wasn’t on her back ;-P
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Gorgeous ad, I have 8 weeks to go (3rd baby) and have a terrible pregnancy, but watching this makes it all worth while and even makes me consider going back for number 4!!!
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Love!
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I think it’s a beautiful ad……
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I can’t believe I cried. I didn’t get that emotional when I gave birth 7 weeks ago! Mind you, I didn’t have soft focus photography at the time…
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amazing in all the right ways, beautiful.
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I cried when I saw that on tv the other night too!!!
I felt like a git, but it seemed to be a very beautiful depiction of childbirth, while not actually prettying it up… very, very beautifully shot.
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absolutely beautiful, and pretty tame. Back to my baby now…
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I am not gonna watch this…..I’m expecting our first in 8 weeks and I really don’t want to see the business end of things because I think it will terrify me!
I’m just hoping they don’t make us watch a video at antenatal class next week!
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oh, i’ve just watched it (i’ve had 2 births) and i guarantee it will make you look forward to the birth….you only see the beauty of it
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I just finished the parental classes….and yes they showed EVERYTHING.
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Yucky ducks!
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Well, I just shed a tear. Partly because it what every woman going through IVF genuinely hopes to get, and also because it might just be the one thing I don’t get. Starting IVF probably in November – so hope the fertility drugs kick in before then!
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Wow, best of luck with it! I’ve been through two IVF cycles this year, the first one ended in an early miscarriage and the second one didn’t work at all. Going for no. 3 soon. Hope yours works!
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Our little man was born through IVF, after 5yrs of trying. My thoughts are with you both.
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Ellebelle – I wish you all the best. We have just had our second child by IVF (the first wasn’t) and we were successful after our second cycle. The IVF process isn’t as bad as you think – you even get used to the needles.
A hint from a coaching friend of mine – if you don’t like giving yourself the jabs, look up at the ceiling, breathe deeply a few times then smile like you’ve just had the happiest thought in the world. This makes the jab much more bearable – at least it worked for me!
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hello little one! Magical!!
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Made me cry.
But that could be due to the fact that I am now offically one day overdue with my second bubba!
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Sandy… is that you??
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No, sorry x
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All births are beautiful.
I was probably expecting a lot more details as I have been watching many birth videos. This one was very tame so not sure why the others didn’t want to watch
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it’s always mystifying when people won’t watch birth. i guess they won’t watch surgery shows either? i hope it’s not just birth videos, no offence to those who won’t, but it seems like a loss of maturity to me. it’s how everyone comes out…(mostly!)
this is so tame that it could be in a pg rated movie.
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Beautiful. Thank you.
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Beautiful.
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Gorgeous. Brings back so many memories!
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Hate this whole thing. Potentially so misleading. Not everyone manages to get pregnant, even with the help of IVF. Not all labours are like the one portrayed. Don’t know why I have had such a strong emotional reaction to this ad but I just seriously don’t like it – and yes I do have children.
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I’m with you. Birth is amazing, but this is shot, lit, edited and screened to advertise services for money.
I acknowledge it is a dilemma – I’m criticising an IVF clinic for showing the aimed-for and hoped-for end result! However, there are so many ways they could advertise what they do – and so many images that they could use.
I just find it extra manipulative in the way it’s been presented. And that manipulation makes me uncomforteable – and even cynical. Again, this is about attracting clients who will pay for services.
(I want to point out my discomfort is about the ‘selling’ of IVF in this way – not the process or the people who go through it. In no way to I mean disrespect to families who want, need or have used IVF services. My heart and compassion goes out to all of you…)
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yes I think I agree…I feel uncomfortable about it…can’t put my finger on why though.
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I felt so uncomfortable with it I switched off early. Not anything to do with birth, but maybe the commercialisation of it? Can’t put my finger on it exactly either, but it made me feel angry and cynical.
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It’s too emotional for people who may never give birth. Even for those who are lucky enough to get pregnant.
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After 5 yrs trying for a baby, it was all we thought about. We did 2 cycles of IVF and felt a lot of pressure(mainly put on by ourselves). If I saw this ad before we started I think I would of felt even more pressure. At times it was very overwhelming. I think the ad could focus on other aspects of the treatment. We were lucky and had a very happy ending. I IVF baby and 2 natural.
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I agree with you… will say no more…
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yeah, not sure its an appropriate ad for ivf???? Seems a bit insensitive, like “this is what you COULD have……maybe……if it works” which i know is a long and hard road for a lot of women on ivf.
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I didn’t like it either. I found the music really off-putting & the images that I felt should have moved me or seemed beautiful just weren’t to me. I agree that so many labours & births aren’t like this, mine certainly wasn’t & that’s probably what is colouring my opinion. My daughter is almost three so you would think my birth experience would be faraway enough away to be discounted but not so. And interestingly, I usually cry at most television & movie births I see so it is definitely something about the way this is shot & that music that I really dislike.
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I’m crying! How beautiful.
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I haaaated labour and watching that poor woman made me feel sick in the stomach but I loved the way the grimace turned into a grin, which is exactly what happened for me.
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I am a midwife- birth is wonderful to watch. Sometimes it is good to be reminded how amazing it is by other people because I see it everyday and I forget that for most it is something quite unusual to see!
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Agreed. After the initial buzz I got from seeing a baby come out the first few times, I kinda got used to it.
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Just wanted to say I LOVE YOU GUYS and thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!
Have only ever met one nasty midwife, ever (and I think she was post natal herself).
L O V E Y O U !!
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God that just makes me sure I don’t want babies. It looks so painful and slimy.
Makes me appreciate what my mum did for me but.
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BEAUTIFUL BRILLIANT BIRTH…..
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my mum just showed this to me, being all gushy.
you know you are not in the kiddie headspace when you get grossed out- it looks so painful and newborn babies aren’t exactly pretty.
when i get clucky i’ll probs see this vid in a whole new light (i’m only 18 btw)
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haha, I know how you feel. I still didnt have the ‘kiddie headspace’ by the age of 35 and was largely disinterested throughout my first pregnancy. Going into labour was a tad scary because I hadnt even bothered to find out what to expect. When the midwife placed the slippery red whimpering thing on my chest I felt like saying “WTF! Cant you see Iv just done the equivalent of a marathon! Get that gross thing off me!”.
A few hours later I felt the epiphany of mother-love wash over me and my feelings of wonder, adoration, and protectiveness for my beautiful baby were strong enough to make my heart race every time I looked at her. The ‘kiddie headspace’ is a permanent state of mind now, and I found that video beautiful and moving.
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I am not sure why anyone has anything negative to say. It is an amazing thing and we a privileged to see it.
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Beautiful video. But then, I’m hormonal. If you’re looking for something seriously beautiful, please, please look at this series of photos: http://www.nataliecarstens.com/blog/2011/08/31/the-birth-story-of-lola-anne/
It makes me tear up just thinking about it. The photographer has captured the birth story magically.
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this mini doco is amazingly beautiful- thankyou for posting this link and making me aware of it. have a lovely weekend.
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Wow. That clip is seriously moving
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agree that the music is a bit off…. but like the rest of it.
and how weird, just watched it off this site and within 1 minute it appeared onthe telly in front of me!!!!!! LOL
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When she grabs him, her hands around his little ribcage. I remember that feeling! Oh god!!!
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Really beautiful…a bit clean though??? LOL
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Hated watching the “labour” bit…
*Loved* watching the birth bit, that amazing tiny little body and mums face.
(My labours were soooo awful. But my babies inversely amazingly wonderful!)
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Stunning, beautiful, a moment in time that I will remember forever. I love this clip.
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How cute was it’s little bum!
My bub is 8 months today, they grow so quickly. Beautiful.
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Gorgeous video. Pregnant with my second and cant wait to meet another new little person again. We women are amazing aren’t we.
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Ooh how I want another bubba
I could watch birth videos all day – seriously, they amaze me. Love them.
I found it a bit odd for an advertisement of a fertility clinic though – wouldn’t it make more sense to show an embryo in a dish or something?
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Whether your beautiful baby is conceived by ivf or not u can still deliver a baby as shown in the video.
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Good question, but not really. It’s a bout the birth not the conception. And the birth footage they are showing the emotion, the embryo in a dish even though it’s real, is not the emotional part. and believe me, I’ve been there. My daughter was concieved via IVF (though I had a c section). Once you are pregnant via ivf, your pregnancy is no different to anyone elses.
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I’m six weeks pregnant with my second and in the throes of all-day-sickness. It was beautiful and reminded me of what it’s all about. Now to get through the next few weeks!
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I think this clip would be very hard to watch if you were having fertility issues.
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Bingo, very much so. If only we could all have such a happy ending. Unfortunately for some of us, our arms will always be empty, our hearts sad and our desire unfulfilled.
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That’s exactly what I was thinking!
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Hubby and I are going to start trying for our first baby in a couple of months, this clip makes me sick with anxiety-I’m so nervous about the pregnancy and birth, being a pediatric nurse doesn’t alieve the anxiety!!
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I don’t find it beautiful at all, don’t like the music it is a bit eerie for the subject for me. And it makes me wince watching it ( I have had 3 and will never forget it!!!)
The labour bit is okay, the bit where the baby pops out is gross, yuk yuk yuk and then she holds in the air and it seems she does not want to hug it with out a towel either. I wished I had not watched it, I have to cross my legs in empathy.
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Yes, it’s absolutely beautiful, but I didn’t need to see bub’s head popping out of the vag for it to be effective.
My understanding is that most IVF docs prefer ceasar’s too, so may be setting an unreasonable expectation. My old OBs view, when he went exclusively IVF (and I’m not saying it’s right) was that when you’ve tried so hard to have a child at great cost and personal effort, why would you risk natural delivery?
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You can hardly see ‘vag’! The baby’s head is the main focus isn’t it?
I have three friends who have had babies via IVF (2 have had 2 each and the other 3) and none of them had caesars. They saw regular ob’s during their pregnancies (not high-risk ob’s or in any way related specifically to IVF) who said that their pregnancies were as run-of-the-mill as any other. Not disagreeing with what your old ob, just offering a different story
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That’s such a lazy (and very risk averse) viewpoint. You “risk” a vaginal birth because that’s how it’s actually intended. What made him think that a Caesarian is better than natures way all the time?
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Law suits and high insurance costs is what he told me.
Yes, he could be a lazy bugger. I heard from some of the midwives that he “liked to cut” so you may be on to something there.
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Your OB has taken a very interesting stance. What about all the risks to baby AND mother with c-section is chosen?
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No, once you are pg, it doesn’t matter how it was concieved. Seems an odd thing for him to say, given C sections have their own risks. (it was my IVF specialist who told me that once pg, it is a pregnancy the same as any others)
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I think he was serving mainly older mums.
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“Risk” natural delivery? The risk from caesarean section is so much higher – it is a major operation. C section certainly has its place – I know, I’ve had one c section and then one vaginal birth, it’s great that it’s an option when natural birth goes wrong – but to intervene without reason is to invite a whole host of other risks.
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I agree, I definitely agree.
I’ve had two natural births and my ob was very supportive.
This pregnancy (probably why the vag and “head popping” is disturbing me so much) I have the choice of a ceasar or natural due to some mild complications and I’m dead keen to go natural again.
I suppose my old ob thought that he personally would be less likely to be sued over infections and other post-birth complications. All the other obs in his practice were the same.
Thanks all for being so sweet and talking about the issue.
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My understanding is that obs get paid about $2k for a natural birth delivery, but $5k for a c section. I was told this by a good friend who works at the private hospital where I birthed all 3 of my children.
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My goosebumps won’t go away!
As someone else said below, a truly beautiful reminder of the best days of my life. I never thought anything could be so etched in my memory, but that moment of my babies being put up on my chest and them opening their huge big eyes and staring at me… oh dear… I am starting to cry!
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Beautiful comment!! Love it. Feel exactly the same way about the birth of my son x
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Personally I reckon if you could bottle that feeling of utter joy and relief after ending that agony, you’d make a bloody fortune.
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So true! I actually started to write above ‘that moment of the agony instantly ending and seeing my baby…’
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That is a very beautiful video but it actually makes me quite emotional. I have one son who was born via emergency c section. While I know that the important thing is that he is here with me, safe and healthy, I can’t help but feel emotional each time I see birthing videos or when someone I know has a natural birth. It was something that I very much wanted to experience, so I feel let down by my body in some ways. I know that logically that is silly and as I said, the important thing is that my son is here, but it still makes me sad. I can’t help but watch though.
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Everything you’ve said I understand completely! I’ve had two c-sections which is not how I thought things would happen (my body doesn’t seem to want go into labour) and it can be very upsetting hearing about natural births, I wanted one so much but it’s not meant to be for me. I think I’ll be a little bit sad about it forever but it gets easier to deal with as time passes x
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My eldest too was born by emergency c-section, so I thought I’d always have it done that way. But have had two “natural” deliveries since. It doesn’t need to be once a c-section always a c-section. For the record, #2 was awful from start to finish, #3 was (in hindsight) a piece of cake.
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I feel exactly the same way, Nicky.
It is NOT silly to feel sadness that you have not been able to deliver your children the way you would have liked. What IS silly is when people make the throw away comment that “at least you have a healthy child”. Yes we know that and would never want to place our babies in jeopardy – but we are still allowed to be disappointed and grieve for an experience we were never able to have.
The video is amazingly beautiful and I loved it, but was bittersweet to watch.
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If you have another baby there’s no rule that says, even if they are close together, that you can’t try for vbac. My SiL just had one with her child that was 14 days late. She turned up for her c-section and they cheerfully told her that she was dialated enough to try induction. Her children two years apart.
Not sure she doesn’t regret it now though, she wound up with so many stitches the recovery is almost as long as for the cesarean!
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I’m so glad someone else feels that way Nicky/Jackie/Dana! I spent my whole pregnancy waiting for that moment my daughter was born and placed on my chest. But an emergency (and traumatic ie paralysed diaphragm = can’t breathe) c-section meant I missed out on that experience, and was also physically unable to hold her until 3 hours after the birth. As you say, we are so lucky to have healthy babies but I still can’t watch birth videos without crying (and feeling a little envious) and i think I’ll always feel robbed of that experience.
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Beautiful .. special .. wonderful … Birth! The thing we all share but we can be still a bit ‘squeamish’ in celebrating / watching / being reminded of the reality of .. (both via vaginal delivery & C section ) birth. BUT .. also .. I take a moment to think of the Mums & Dads who ‘experience exactly this’ (or not .. because it was too early.. or ‘other things’) … and their darling baby was born / delivered not alive. For them I just think / make comment …. All birth is … amazing .. and of course for all of us .. the birth of a living healthy child is just … the most precious gift. (& let us never forget that) … sorry if a bit too ‘heavy’ for the convo ….
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How beautiful. Seeing birth videos always makes me cry. It takes me back to seeing my children’s beautiful newborn faces, in all their puffiness. And how special is it when they gaze at you for the first time. Melts my heart. Doesn’t make me want another one, though!!
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Can anyone tell mw the background music used???
Just beautiful. Tears. Lovely reminder of the best day of my life.
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The ad is set to an original score by NZ composer Don McGlashan
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Awesome! Thanks Greg!
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Beautiful….watching a birth with no ‘sounds’ makes it an amazing experiences…real sounds of labour not so good!!!
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Ha ha! The midwife toward the end of my recent labour asked if I thought it would better for me if I didn’t make so much noise! I said NO, loudly!
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