This Woman’s Work

I saw the movie, She’s Having a Baby, back in the early 90’s. It was released in 1988 but I was in Germany during that time and didn’t know much about the movie until I picked it up off the rack full of VHS films a few years later. Most of the movie is a light comedy until the scene below. It had such an impact on me that I’d watch it over and over. The lyrics fit the scene perfectly and Kate Bush’s voice is so haunting it still gives me chills today. Especially the part where a tear falls and turns to blood. I wasn’t expecting such a powerful and intense scene from a John Hughes movie.

Now that we’ve had three children with another one on the way in November, watching this scene is even more powerful. It accurately shows how helpless the father feels. He’s certainly not going through what his wife is, but his lonely and dazed feeling is something I can relate to.

Like many experiences in life, it’s nearly impossible to explain to someone what watching a birth is like. Words don’t do it justice. It’s intense, it’s hectic, and very confusing at times. But it’s magical too. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.

By a wide margin.

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