Instant Birth, Just Add Water: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Only partly [[Truth in Television]] - the water breaking is one possible early indication that labor has started and that the baby is on the way, and this can be quite a quick process (although, depending on the baby, also quite a slow one); however, the 'instant birth' part happens more often on television than it does in real life and in most real-life labors the amniotic sac remains intact until well into labor or even until birth. Likewise, in most of these fictitious situations, the woman's baby is her ''first--'' which, on average, ''rarely'' precedes a labor-period of less than ''twelve hours,'' which would outlast virtually any sudden "crisis."

Not to be confused with [[Express Delivery]].

 

 

== Literature ==

* Played straight during Reuben's birth in ''[[The Red Tent]]''

 

* ''[[Frasier]]'', particularly Daphne's birth. Needless to say, this was Daphne's ''first'' child; and as usual, twelve hours of average labor was condensed down to twelve seconds.

* ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'', in the back of Robbie's police car. Only it was a false start, and Robbie had started to go through his emergency birth procedures, much to Ray's chagrin.

* In ''[[Law and Order Special Victims Unit]]'' this happens to Elliot's wife after she's in a car accident on the way to a gynecologist appointment, though she was literally ''trapped in the car'' and had to be manually extracted, which took quite a bit of time. She eventually ended up getting out and giving birth in the ambulance on the way to the hospital after several hours had apparently passed since the accident, making this not so far fetched compared to some of the other examples on this page. That doesn't change the [[Narm]] factor though.

** To be fair, this was her fifth child. Subsequent births happen quicker because a woman's cervix never gets back to the same shape it was before a birth.

** Similarly, in [[Stargate Atlantis]], Roddney delivers Teyla's baby while they are on a Wraith Hive.

* In ''[[Lost]]'', this happens when Claire gives birth on the island. Unfortunately, {{spoiler|the only doctor, Jack, is tending to a dying Boone.}} Charlie and a non-English speaking Jin have to aid her delivery, on a rock in the jungle.

* In the season 1 finale of ''[[Glee]]'', the labor only lasts as long as a performance of Bohemian Rhapsody.

** Well, it's a pretty long song...

* This happened in the Australian soap, ''[[Home and Away]]'', in early 2011. Nicole was on the beach with Angelo at the time, and there was no way to get her to the car or for an ambulance to reach them. So she gave birth on the sand, within minutes of her water breaking.

* Played straight in ''[[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody]]'''s Christmas episode, which is a shout out to the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day (complete w/ no room for the couple).

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Birth Tropes]]