In South Korea's first live birth variety show, TV CHOSUN's 우리 아기가 또 태어났어요, birth correspondents Park Su-hong and Jang Seo-hee watched the delivery of a mother who, amid a possible divorce, gave birth to her second child as a post-term baby.
The episode, which aired on the 23rd, of TV CHOSUN's 우리 아기가 또 태어났어요 (directed by Lee Seung-hoon and Kim Jun, written by Jang Joo-yeon), featured birth correspondents Park Su-hong and Jang Seo-hee meeting a 42-week pregnant "post-term mother" who enjoyed surfing even at full term. The mother was a former member of the national surfing reserve team and served as a judge at surfing competitions. In addition, she was a super mom raising a 14-month-old first child. While a typical delivery occurs at 38 weeks, the mother had already passed her due date by more than two weeks. Ahead of the delivery she shocked Park Su-hong and Jang Seo-hee by deciding to divorce, saying she would raise the two children alone.
The mother and husband, both hot-tempered, fought daily, and resentment had built up because the husband, busy with work, could not participate in childcare. The two were already covering living expenses separately. The husband failed to keep his promise to provide at least 300,000 won a month for living expenses, so the mother covered living costs through the government's "parental allowance." The mother greatly wanted to share in her children's growth, but the husband was busy and the two continued to clash. The mother said, "Rather than showing the children mom and dad fighting every day, I decided it would be better for us to live happily on our own, so I decided to divorce. I still want only one thing from my husband: I wish for kind words and kind actions," revealing her true feelings.
The husband, for his part, expressed a desire to keep the family together. He said, "My wife used strong expressions like 'that's supposed to be my husband; I live like this' and 'I wish you'd go die.' I endure it thinking she's being sensitive. I have a strong desire to keep the family," expressing his opposing view. The mother said, "I don't think we lack love between us. He's a person who doesn't show how much he loves, so he's become dull in his emotions," conveying her feelings about a husband who lacks expression. The husband replied, "I didn't have the luxury for that. No matter how I think about it, I seem better than before, but I can't meet my wife's expectations." After continued clashes, the wife eventually broke down in tears, and Park Su-hong said, "She reminds me of my wife. It's time to understand why my wife is crying and the emotion behind her tears. Nothing is tougher than childbirth and parenting. Going out to shoot is really easier than parenting. Seeing my wife struggle with parenting alone makes me feel sorry and want to return home quickly. The husband needs to change more," giving sincere advice to the husband. At those words, the husband summoned the courage to take his wife's hand.
The next day, the mother and husband headed to the hospital for delivery. Yet even seeing the heavily pregnant mother pack a hospital bag, the husband didn't budge, and the mother ended up entering the obstetrics department carrying her luggage and their first child. The mother was given oxytocin and waited for labor while the husband stayed nearby, but he didn't look at his wife and answered curtly. Eventually the wife sent the husband away and endured labor alone in the room. Some time later, the husband returned to the room to bring a meal. Changed, he gave kind words like "you've worked hard" to his wife suffering contractions and fed her, making her smile. Seeing her swollen feet, the husband naturally massaged them, easing the mother's heart.
Then active labor began, and birth correspondents Park Su-hong and Jang Seo-hee were called out of bed and rushed to the delivery room. The husband, who had said expressing himself was difficult, held his wife's hand by her side, cheered her on and did his best. After 18 hours of labor, the post-term mother gave birth to a daughter, and the couple, holding the baby, sang happy birthday together, delivering a moving scene of reunification.
But a short time later the mother sent footage to the producers showing the husband's behavior changing in front of and behind the camera, saying "the fighting has started again." The raised voices during the couple's argument made the first child cry. The husband asked the producers for help, saying, "I want to try counseling, even if it's grasping at straws." The outcome for the two very different couples who have had two children will be revealed next week.
Meanwhile, news was also reported about the quadruplets who were born premature and struggled to breathe on their own, worrying the birth correspondents. The parents of the quadruplets, who live in Incheon where childbirth support funds are the highest in the country, were able to ease their biggest concern about financial burden through support such as postpartum care expenses that can be used for postnatal massage, angel support funds that can be used for education costs, and medical expense support for premature infants. The quadruplets were receiving ongoing treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and, though there were small differences, all were steadily regaining health, bringing good news.
[Photo] TV CHOSUN's 우리 아기가 또 태어났어요 broadcast capture
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