By late October I had gotten really sick of reading pregnancy books (despite which I’ve still got a large stack of them left to go) and did a total 180, picking up a couple of Cormac McCarthy books to take my brain completely somewhere else. It wasn’t a bad idea; only one out of the three involved a pregnancy or baby. Then Sara loaned me Stephenie Meyers’ “Breaking Dawn,” the fourth book in her vampire/human romance series, and guess what? The vampire gets the human pregnant — something they didn’t realize could happen — and things get out of control very quickly.
It had all the hallmarks of a demon pregnancy: hyperfast gestation, the mother getting really pale and hollow (and, later on, craving blood), superstrong fetus that was predicted to kill its mother during birth. And, of course, the mom-to-be becomes so protective of her unborn that she won’t let anyone end the pregnancy, despite that the ominous music practically guarantees she won’t survive it.
I was re-watching “Angel,” Joss Whedon’s “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” spinoff, just before and just after I got pregnant. There are two such “demon pregnancies” in that show — both featuring Cordelia. In the first one, she comes to full term in a matter of days, and discovers during a sonogram that she’s having more babies than she would have anticipated (this happens to lots of normal pregnancies, too, though it’s usually not a litter of 7). In the second instance, the gestation is longer but it makes Cordelia evil and then, when the “baby” comes out, it turns out to be a horrible tentacled demon that disguises itself as a wonder-goddess and enslaves the human race.
It’s easy to see how pregnancy could be turned, by changing a few key details, into horror-film fodder. Even the most natural and healthy pregnancy resembles the plot of many such films: Body going through strange and shocking changes, woman suddenly not acting like herself, unseen alien life growing inside the belly, and of course the unavoidably gooey and gory birth.
When I got pregnant, I intentionally avoided reading the “classic” “What To Expect When You’re Expecting,” which many consider overly alarmist (I just found it badly structured). I have, however, been reading a lot of online pregnancy forums and it’s amazing how much women worry during pregnancy. The thing about pregnancy is, there’s a lot of “normal.” Bleeding some during the first trimester is normal; not bleeding is also normal. Some abdominal pain is normal; some means ectopic pregnancy; it’s also within the realm of reason to have no pain. Weeks of nausea — including several bouts of projectile-vomiting a day — is normal; so is feeling just fine in the tummy. So a lot of potentially scary stuff can also mean things are just fine. If you haven’t been through this, trust me; it’s surreal.
Of course, it doesn’t help that if you’re a member of Babycenter, which I am, you get weekly memos and many of them are alarmist, too. “17 Dangerous Infections in Pregnancy,” proclaimed one email. “Get To Know The Signs of Preterm Labor,” said another. Important information, sure, but it seriously makes me want to go back and read more McCarthy novels, ones in which a bunch of Indians get scalped in the Wild West but nobody has a scary pregnancy episode.
It would be easy to say that tales like “Breaking Dawn” and “Angel” are toying with women’s fears, but I think it’s much more about exploring (and exaggerating) them in a healthy and fictional setting so you can sit back and think, “Wow, at least my pregnancy isn’t that bad.” I guess it depends on your fear thresholds, though. I’ve been afraid of or worried about very little, except getting the house ready in time, and I’m one of those weirdos who isn’t really scared of labor or birth. Other mothers and mothers-to-be may want to skip certain genres of fiction until well after their babies are born, just to be on the safe side.
The next escapist-fiction book in my list? It involves zombie children. I’m sure that’ll put my mind at ease. :)
— Beth
The Carraway Seed 
Alyse said,
November 20, 2008 at 11:03 pm
There is one non alarmist thing you should get tested for (if you haven’t already) and thats strep type B (think that is what it is called). I had it with my son who was first and not with my daughter. They don’t know what causes it. It is not a disease or can be helped in any way. You either have it or you don’t. If you DO by chance have it though they have to give you an antibiotic right before labor though because it can kill the baby. Not trying to scare you (although it scared the hell out of me) but it is something important they had better damn check you for at your exams. They do so much poking and prodding and other unmentionables (did I mention I think a man invented the speculum *shudder*) that you sometimes feel like a piece of meat. But really it is with everyones best interest in mind. Especially the babys. :)
Beth W. said,
November 20, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I know about Strep B — it’s not quite time for me to get tested yet, but I will and figure out what I need to do. From what I’ve read the risks of actual harm to the baby are pretty small, but it’s good to know they’re there and what to do. :)
sara said,
December 7, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I did wonder how that book would sit with you, given that pregnancy plot line. Glad you took it in stride. =)
I had no idea they subjected Cordelia to that much abuse on Angel. Does she ever get to have a normal baby? Are there support groups for the Mothers of Demon Spawn?