There may be some mothers in the audience who can refute this, but to me, childbirth has always been filed under the “terrifying and awful” category of life experiences. And I’m not saying the actual “having a baby” thing isn’t a joyous occasion, sitcoms have episodes based around that concept all the time. I’m just assuming that shooting a human being out of your vag can’t be fun.
That’s why I’m mildly horrified that women in Zimbabwe were getting fined for doing what seems to be the natural response to giving birth: screaming.
A $5 penalty for “raising false alarm” was added to the usual $50 cost of labor (roughly a third of the county’s annual income) they – SURPRISE!- can’t afford it. The solution? Discharge them early and charge interest. Not to mention some hospitals can’t even afford appropriate medical supplies, and the women are forced to provide it themselves.
Allegedly this has stopped – or at least complaints have stopped – since the Deputy Prime Minister had an investigation on the practice. Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that no matter how cute and wacky childbirth looks on sitcoms, the reality is that in some countries, standards and regulations truly DO file under the “terrifying and awful” category.
Original article via HuffingtonPost.com
Image via TVtropes.com
