Powerful birth scenes in Hamnet

Movie 'Hamnet' is based on the book by Maggie O'Farrell, who also wrote the screenplay, along with the director of the movie, Chloe Zhao.

I went to see the movie Hamnet a couple of nights ago, and it has two birth scenes, and I thought I would write about them because there are interesting points about what birth was like in the 16th century, and how birth is portrayed in modern media.

Have you seen it? Did you spot the birth stool?

Hamnet is based on Shakespeare’s wife and children. If you go and see it be aware that there is child death. Powerful and harrowing.

Shakespeare's wife, Agnes*, gives birth three times, first to a girl, and then to twins, a boy and a girl.

Agnes is witchy. She says the women in her family come from the forest. And she goes to the woods to give birth to her first daughter, on her own. I went for a walk in the woods when I went into labour with my first. First labours can take a while, and walking can help with last minute positioning, and can be soothing.

We see her standing leaning forward onto a fallen down tree branch, as she breathes through the waves of the contraction. I have seen many women in labour leaning forward, head hung down, slightly rocking.

But then she throws herself backwards onto the ground and leans back more. I have not seen a woman do this in labour. Women instinctively choose upright or leaning forward positions. They don’t give birth lying down, unless on their side.

We have been so conditioned to think that giving birth means lying back!

We then see her cradling her baby. Agnes is calm and serene, happy, if tired. Baby is happy and healthy, and wrapped in cloths. In reality, I think she would more likely be holding her baby skin to skin, and feeding her baby. Having the baby wrapped in cloths is convenient for the movie, for the baby is picked up by her big brother and her husband when they come looking for her.

In her second labour Agnes is stressed because her husband is in London, and there is flooding. Her mother-in-law stops her going to the woods, telling her it is not safe, as the river has broken its banks.

There is a bed made in front of the fire, to keep them warm. One of my clients gave birth in front of the fire place, and spent parts of her labour leaning on the mantlepiece.

Although she is unrealistically lying down on this bed, Agnes does move to standing and then goes on to her knees to give birth, roaring her baby out. By roaring her baby out I mean she roared with the surges, and this was very realistic. Not screaming with pain, but roaring, low and guttural, with the power of the body pushing. They have a midwife who catches the baby.

Hamnet, the boy twin, was born in 1585. Lying down to give birth started when male doctors started attending birth around this time, if a little later, but this was only rich women. Louis XIV is credited with popularising it in the mid 1600s. It was considered important for the birth to be visible to witness of the royal birth, and apparently the royal doctor was an advocate, and wrote about the benefits. In checking my facts, I've just watched an interesting video by historian Greg Jenner, about this.

Greg Jenner on the myths and truths of this

After Hamnet is born, Agnes has a cuddle. Then she lies down, but starts having surges again. Undiagnosed twins. Not unheard of in times before antenatal scans, and still can happen now very very occasionally.

In real life, if there are twins, the midwife would feel the abdomen, after the birth of the first twin, to check what position the second twin is lying in, as sometimes they are breech or lying sideways. If they are sideways the midwife can turn the baby by using her hands on the belly. This is easier that during a singleton pregnancy because there is room in the belly for the baby to move. This is the sort of midwifery knowledge that has been passed down from midwife to midwife for thousands of years so I am sure this would have been likely to happen then.

Agnes' mother-in-law calls out to ‘get her on the stool’, and they lift Agnes off the bed, onto a birthing stool. I was really pleased to see this, though obviously it would be better if it was Agnes' decision. A birthing stool is a stool with a U shaped seat, which has been around for centuries. It is useful for supporting you in an upright position, comfortable for giving birth. You can find them on labour wards and in midwife led units, and you can buy them or hire them for home births.

In the movie though, they don’t lift her nightshirt out of the way and she sits on it. Small detail. She gives birth to the second baby, on the stool. She does a weird movement of leaning her arms up and back. Her mother-in-law is gripping her under her arms in support which happens. Though, with twins, it can happen that a midwife, or other attendant may stand behind and support the lower belly when the second twin is being born, because of the extra room.

The baby is not breathing. The midwife rubs the baby and blows on her face. Both actions I have seen in real life. But only for half a minute. It is really common for some babies to take a minute to come to. The baby is still receiving oxygen from the placenta via the cord. In that minute after birth the baby’s body has to switch to using its lungs. They declare that the baby is dead and go to take it out of the room but Agnes insists on holding her baby. She smiles at the baby and strokes her face. And she starts to breathe.

I have seen babies take a while to breathe, and the mothers do not just smile at the baby. They stroke the baby, stimulate them, kiss them, talk to them, rub them, holding the baby to their face. Calling the baby in. And the midwives join in with the rubbing and blowing. If the baby is still not breathing, then the midwives will use a bag and air or oxygen. But movies don’t have time for all of that.

I am not sure what happens with the cords in any of the babies’ births, nor the placentas. But, hey, it’s a movie! And for a movie it wasn't a bad representation of giving birth in 16th century Britain, or home births in the 21st century.

What did you think of the birth scenes? Anything you would add? Any other birth scenes you'd like me to review.

*If you have been wondering why I have called Shakespeare's wife Agnes, when you may know her as Anne Hathaway (not the actress). she was also known as Agnes, which is what Maggie O’Farrell used in her book, which the film is based on.  

I'm Cathy, Chilled Mama, a perinatal educator, trainer, and birth doula. If you want to chat to me about anything that arises from this post, please message me. cathy@chilledmama.co.uk