Children are permitted at the Birth & Family Expo, but not at the play. For those with teens who will attend, below is a Parent's Guide for Birth, provided by BOLD Seattle. A Parent's Guide to Birth From BOLD Seattle I took my daughters (age 10 and 13) to see Birth, and a couple of friends asked me to let them know what my kids thought, and whether I thought it would be appropriate for their kids. I wrote up a response for them, and then realized it might be helpful for other folks out there who are debating about whether or not to take the teens in their lives to see this show… So, here's a "parent's guide" to the play - CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS First, let me tell you a little about how the play works: there are eight people on stage, all women, seated. They are taking turns talking about their birth experiences. There are no props and they have scripts in hand, though are mostly working off-book. Most of the women play a specific character throughout the show, but also play bit parts (doula, doctor, nurse, grandmother-to-be, husbands, etc.). The dialog bounces back and forth between them as they take turns telling parts of their stories. They talk in detail about the birth process. So, they will talk about vaginas and contractions and cesareans and more. They make the sounds of birthing women, they squat and strain, etc. as they tell their stories. There are emotionally distressing parts (a woman screaming "don't cut me", a woman saying that although her baby was fine and healthy, she'd had a cesarean and to her body it felt like her baby had died), lots of funny parts (yes, my kids laughed at the "I felt like I was pushing this baby out of my butt!"), and lots of emotionally empowering parts (the audience chanting together with one character "my body rocks") Amelia, at 13, thought the show was fascinating. She was very engaged in it, really got attached to some of the character's stories, was justifiably concerned for a couple of the characters (mad that a woman had a cesarean for a "big baby - gotta be 11 pounds" that turned out to be 6 pounds; mad that a woman was cut (had an episiotomy) when she asked not to be and didn't seem to need to be), was very excited that one of the women had a VBAC with her second baby, etc. She talked a lot about how the idea of a home birth and birthing your baby in the water seemed like a wonderful way to give birth, and how it was good because at home you would have more control over what happened to you. She was excited about the power of women's bodies - "our bodies rock!" Overall, I would say her confidence about birth increased (and probably her confidence in the medical profession's authoritative knowledge decreased….) Izzy, at 10, did not give me as detailed of feedback… She enjoyed the show. She said she was able to understand everything that was going on (now bear in mind that Izzy is an unusual ten-year-old - she was reading 12th grade level when she was in third grade, and she's grown up around me talking about birth - has sat in on lots of my classes over the years, and watches birth videos with me) She said that nothing frightened or troubled her, and that she liked hearing all the stories. She commented on the woman who had a planned cesarean, researched and scheduled on her calendar… Izzy had never heard before that someone might actively want a cesarean. There are a couple vocabulary things that I think would be very helpful for kids to know to understand the dialog of the play. It would be important to know what an epidural is, what a cesarean is, what they're talking about when they talk about centimeters… there are other technical terms but those are the ones that get used the most. Having a general understanding of the birth process would probably also help Regarding language: there are several uses of "the F word" (when women are upset, or in pain during labor). A few other swear words may appear. The average teenager may be used to hearing this at school, or in films, but some parents may be uncomfortable with the use of these words in the play. (BOLD Fort Worth note: We have opted to edit the most offensive language in the show, but there are still a few words that may not be suitable for children) I would definitely plan on some time to talk with your child after the show and de-brief it with them. Bottom line on: is this show appropriate for kids? You gotta know your kid. My girls have both heard a lot about the birth process - if your mom's a doula and childbirth educator, you can't help but be more immersed in this stuff than the average family. Also, my girls have seen and done a lot of theater. They have seen sophisticated shows before. My older daughter engages in the world through Story - she loves stories and they help her understand things in a deeper way. So this play led to some great dialog with her about birth - she's often squeamish about talking about it, and this deepened her understanding. I would guess that the average 10 year old is probably not up to this show. But, I would imagine that the average 13 to 16 year old is and it could open up some interesting conversations about birth and about what it means in a woman's life cycle. |
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Children at the Event |