I just got done watching the trailer for The Other Side of the Glass, a movie that is geared towards empowering fathers to preserve their baby's space after birth. It was pretty mind blowing.
I think sometimes we are geared to think that things are a certain way, just because that is how it has always been. If we have a baby in the hospital, such and such will happen. If we have a baby at home, so and so will happen. We forget, sometimes, that just as we have rights that should be honored, our newborn babies also deserve those same protections.
It is difficult at the very end of birth for the mother to be able to totally advocate for herself and her child. Sometimes she is experiencing her own interventions that can take away her ability to totally focus on her baby (placental delivery, stitches, c-section, anesthesia, etc.), and this is why she totally and completely depends on her birth partner to watch over her newborn's safe-keeping. I don't think that most fathers are equipped to advocate for their child. It can be intimidating to stand up to or question those we consider professionals.
I know some people will watch the trailer and think of their own birth experiences (I know I did). You may feel that the interventions that your baby experienced after birth were necessary or that they caused no ill effects. Watching the video may cause you to relive your own and your baby's birth trauma. For me, the trailer reminded me that babies, in utero and freshly birthed, are sentient. They are individuals with a brain and a heart and a soul. They have awareness and memory. They should be treated with tender hands, soft voices, and with respect.
Now go watch the trailer and tell me what you think.
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Gosh, I have to say that was disturbing. It actually didn't bring back any bad memories for me--kind of amazingly. My daughter wasn't ripped from my arms. After a few minutes they did have to take her to stitch up her head (injury from birth), but I understood that. I wanted to cry many times while watching this. Mainly because I can see so clearly how fathers feel they are helpless and are made powerless. It was hard to watch some of it. I don't feel like my birth with my daughter brought on any violations. There was a terrible accident leading to her injury, but I don't believe there were any of the things talked about in the trailer. Now I feel blessed it didn't. I do think, though, that my husband did feel quite helpless, despite my daughter being with me 100% of the time (except while being stitched up). He also followed her during that time, which I'm thankful for and I know it helped him feel that he could be there to protect her if he needed to. I'm so glad they're making a film for this very purpose. I believe it's truly valid.
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