Kourtney Kardashian, Awesome

Today, Slate asked if 16 and Pregnant really deterred teens from having babies, yet reality TV might be helping women’s health in a TOTALLY unexpected venue: the friggin’ Kardashians.  I cannot believe,  I repeat, I cannot believe that the Kardashians are paving the way for positive images of childbirth.  Last night’s finale showed Kourtney Kardashian going into labor, and pretty much backing up what doulas, Rikki Lake, and your friendly neighborhood midwife have been saying all along:

1.) Childbirth does not mean panic

2.) Mamas can be powerful, involved, and calm during the process

3.) Breaking water doesn’t mean the baby is about to tumble out, and that chaos is about to ensue (instead, Kourtney does the laundry)

4.) It’s great to be surrounded by a calm community of peeps who love and respect you

This finale is tremendous because of the audience the show has. If young girls see pop icons like Kourtney Kardashian having this kind of birth experience, their expectation of the event in their own lives is changed. I hope an entire generation of people saw this and thought “I didn’t know it could be like that.” Yes, Kardashian as role model.  This makes me doubt all of my crankpot ways…

Who knew,

CF