A Family Affair

It never ceases to amaze me when parents come to deliver and they bring others with them to "share" in their birth. Maybe I'm just being too "old school," but I always have been of the era in that I think giving birth to your child should be a personal experience between husband and wife and maybe a few close family members.

When did it become acceptable to bring your neighbors, your friends, and simply people off the street to watch your birth? Seriously. I've attended births where there are people in the room that can't even tell you the patient's last name!

You've got Aunt Jane twice removed armed with the video camera running around filming everything and as the nurse, you try to warn them that if they don't stop filming they'll run out of room on the tape before the "good" stuff comes. You've got Cousin Mary who you haven't seen in five years standing over in the corner eating her sandwich. You've got your neighbor from down the street there because she wants to see a birth. Really. Is it necessary? What exactly does this add to your birth experience?

Oh for the good old days when it was just mom and dad in the delivery room sharing in the private joys of delivering their child.

Birth isn't a personal experience any more - it's an "event." And it's up to the nurses to run "crowd control."