drama of the year❣
what I love about this is how layered the characters are;Oh Hyun Jin was a total dream 21st century career boss lady, she was in control and composed but as she entered the the mysterious momhood everything changed for her, she wasn't as confident, she didn't know anything and she was scared which just proves, being "smart" doesn't make you a natural know it all
Jo Eun Jung was the opposite, she was a stay at home mom who took pride in her "natural" and vast knowledge of momhooness, but behind the curtains she was just as clueless and scared as the rest
Lee Roo Da seemed like an arrogant and immature person who didn't love her kid, but she was just someone who had a different approach on motherhood, and she didn't want to do things because "other's do it"
Choi Hye Sook is still a mystery but behind her controlling aura she just wants what's best for the moms. she was a dream boss and mentor, she was stern but compassionate, old fashioned but accepting
glue stick! my precious glue stick is an acting genius! (and the directors did a great job capturing him), his facial expressions were always a delight
Kim Do Yoon is the most precious husband and father! they were the most inspiring healthiest couple I've seen in dramaland. I wonder how big their age gap was xD they were also the best example of a noona romance ;D
the drama has a great sense of humor, I've not laughed like that for a long time, especially 1st ep made laugh until I cried xD
on the other hand they deal with alot of realistic postpartum worries and issues, new moms (and dads) deal with alot of new emotions and experiences, plus the surrounding people's expectations and "advice" can become really suffocating.
you can't produce enough milk? you're a bad mom
you want to work again? you're a bad mom
you gained weight? you're a bad woman
you're not magically happy? you're a bad human
you feel tired from feeding your kid every 3 hours? you're a disgrace...
on the other hand the husband kinda doesn't experience those 1st hand, so he's happy, not tired and tries to encourage his wife or tell her about his day while she can barely hold her own emotions together and he starts thinking he's a burden..
the drama stayed true to it's premier, it dealt with alot of worries and burdens surrounding a new mom while also keeping a well timed sense of humor that never failed to make me laugh until I cried. I'll miss this drama dearly! I really wish s2 happens soon and I wish they keep the same cast, they could all have triplets for all I care, I want them back! TT__TT
the ost was also beautiful and elegant, the setting, the writing, the acting, the directing, everything was perfect❤
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PROS:
-Hilarious mix of different genres: you have romance, comedy, drama, thriller, horror, historical/mythological etc. There are so many different elements of everything you love from various genres that its a treat to watch them all come together and create a mess (in a good way, for the most part...)
-Strong performances and diverse characters. You have your sanctimonious prick mothers, your 'screw authority' mothers, your 'we're not in Kansas anymore' confused as hell mothers and so much more, all played wonderfully by their respective actors. I'm dying to know how they fare!
-Relationship building: I loved how they portrayed relationships (both romantic and platonic) in this TV show in a realistic way. I especially love how they handled the 'will they, wont they' romance side plot of one of the mothers in the centre and dealt with it keeping in mind her personality and life. I hate it when dramas pull a 360 on a character's personality just to ensure a happy ending, but I think her ending turned out happy in her own way.
-Ending for the mothers- all ended very nicely and some, honestly, even abnormally. By the end, our main character got a happy ending that SHE wanted to get as a woman and didn't endlessly sacrifice herself for her child.
-And that is my final pro: the message that mothers dont have to endlessly sacrifice for their child to be a good mother.
Now...CONS (oh boy):
- Every mother shown in this drama has a significant other raising their child with them which is far from realistic. I was quite annoyed, to be honest, because this drama wanted to show "different kinds of mothers" but eventually ditched that in favor of cutesy romance (which is... fine, but done all the time).
-(I cant believe I'm writing this) Too much time spent on breastfeeding: uhh, okay, I'm not a mom (I'm in my early twenties y'all I need to graduate college) but I do understanding that the decision between breastfeeding or formula is super important. Totes, I get it. But to spend 3 episodes...oohing and ahhing over it...yeah, excessive as hell. Especially when there are other equally barely talked about topics that are addressed towards the end of the drama like post partum depression that need more screentime. Which brings me to...
-I really, REALLY wish they spent more time on post partum depression. If breastfeeding is the golden eldest child of this show, post partum depression is the neglected and pitiful stepchild that no one pays attention to. They relegated discourse about the problem to literally the last 15 minutes of one episode and then poof, almost nothing in the next.
- There was such a mish mash of genres that it was everything and nothing at the same time. It didn't know what it wanted to be and after a point became annoying.
- They barely did anything to redeem sanctimonious prick mother. She may be actually a very nice person, but I think the writer forgot that this is a very low-stakes drama about a bunch of mothers set in a birthcare centre: way she talks down and demeans any mother who doesn't go above and beyond for her child like she does, she can almost be considered an antagonist because of the direct opposition she poses to the main character. You have to actively try to get the viewers to understand her motives and see where she is coming from- you have to create a complex character without providing convenient outs and excuses like "husband bad".
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A drama to some it may be a documentary to others it may be a comedy. What will it be to you?
'Birthcare Center' to me, a slice-of-life drama that I have been longing for in years! This drama has brought back my passion to write reviews (something I have lost long time ago!).‘Birthcare Center’ takes the viewers into a fun ride between detailed reality and a fresh comedy. The initiation to the world of motherhood can be pretty overwhelming to some. Unlike anything else in life, motherhood is a lifetime commitment! Far from what we have mostly seen on screens whether it’s a series or a movie, this drama surpasses anything you’ve seen when it comes to postpartum phase. It highlights the travails and triumphs of motherhood including conceiving a child, going through labour, and everything else that you can think of about a woman’s experience entering motherhood and it does all of that with short 8-episodes in comedic frame.
Speaking of myself as someone who never had the chance to experience motherhood/childbirth, this drama has been such an enlightening journey! It made it possible to witness that side of motherhood that we never actually get to see unless we go through it ourselves. For those of you who have experienced it or will experience it you will find that you can relate to so many aspects if not all and you’ll be surprised that you’ll enjoy it despite relating to the pain and struggle! (you might even find comfort). As an outsider to this experience I actually felt every emotion which is amazing for a TV series to accomplish! I've come to understand that there are probably times when the mother is unable to say that the newborn is beautiful when she first sees the baby attached to its amniotic fluid. Details like these and so much more that will have you falling in love with this drama in no time!
Dear reader, ‘Birthcare Center’ isn’t trying to take you to a ‘beautiful journey’ by making things look beautiful/graceful while disregarding the reality of it. ‘Birthcare Center’ is trying to capture each and every moment of a childbirth/postpartum/motherhood phase realistically and help you find the beauty in the reality of it. Most of the time, things that happen after birth can be things that we would never think of such as the aftereffects of birth, the challenges of breastfeeding, the pressure that comes with parenting, and so on. Just like everything in life, even motherhood things do not necessarily go according to plan. The drama has captured all of that in details while presenting it in the best comedic frame, so you as a viewer would actually enjoy every second of it without feeling daunted by the emotions and without feeling drained by the reality of it.
What impressed me the most about this drama is the narration. Narrations are done by women (the cast characters) and it takes you through this journey and helps you understand what the characters are going through. It made this drama vividly real. I must say I absolutely adored watching the mothers in the Centre bond despite their different perspectives. They all had different backgrounds, beliefs, jobs, personalities and priorities however they all had one common goal, to provide the best for their child. You will enjoy watching their relationship changes from enemies to friends and how their bond becomes a lifetime bond.
Finally ‘Birthcare Center’ is a Korean drama tells us that “A good mom is not a perfect mom. It’s a mom who is happy along with her child”. The most important thing this drama tells is that the mother is also as important as her child and that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed, confused, freaked, it’s okay if things is not under control… you will grow as a mother as your child grows… if the child is one month old the mother is one month old because a mother is born the moment her baby is born.
My most favorite quote in the drama - “Everyone says pregnancy is beautiful and pleasant, but it is exhausting, and labor is cruel. And the recovery process is miserable.” Kudos to the writer and the cast for presenting this in such a delicate, fun and fresh manner.
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A "young" mom's foray into motherhood
This drama introduces us to the world of birthcare center throught Oh Hyun Jin's journey's into motherhood.Oh Hyun Jin, 42, is THE ace in her field as the executive of a big firm. She has many achievements the latest being her promotion as the youngest member of the board but she's clueless when it comes to motherhood, childcare and babies.
As a woman having had to go through a geriatric pregnancy, she has a lot of insecurities because of what the pregnancy did to her body, the uncertainty of the future, the discovery that motherhood isn't necessarily what it's made out to be -instinctive and easy.
It's in the birthcare centre that she'll encounter other young mothers who seem to better prepared and more confident. That's when confidence and certainties will start to plummet as she'll realise that having a baby is more than bearing and birthing it.
Oh Hyun Jin will meet other young mothers in the centres who will help her grow and with whom she'll be able to share some of her insecurities : the perfect Jo Eun Jung, the feisty Lee Do Ra, the friendly Park Yoon Ji and the director of the institute, the strict but caring, Choi Hye Sook.
Birthcare Center is a great drama which will resonate with those having experienced having a baby or having someone close who went throught it and shared the experience.
It helps break some taboos and raise some interesting debates with humour -I laughed out loud more than once.
Though the drama is a comedy, there is some melodrama -which brought me to tears because it so heartbreaking and heartwarming at once, with thriller element.
Birthcare center is a must watch for me with great re-watch value. I'm a little bummed it's only 8 episodes but this format ensures it's face paced.
All in all, the message I got from this drama is that "We aren't born to be mothers so that's okay not to feel like others say we are supposed to feel, it's okay to be clueless because we can learn and it's okay to want to keep one's identity and not be solely recognized as a mother".
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Brief, concise, and enlightening.
Birthcare center was a strange drama I happened to watch. At first I found it hilarious with it's exaggerating first episodes. But as it went on, I realized how deep it tackles about motherhood and parenthood--as well as relationships. It was short with only 8 episodes, but it covered a lot of realistic angst. It's like attending a forum by a well known speaker. Brief and consice. It's strange because I felt like it was discouraging us to be mothers, but then at the end it was actually cheering us on. Highly recommend to people in relationships, planning to have children, and to every child that we are. "A good mom, is not a perfect mom."Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Worth the watch
I don't even know where to start, this show has so many layers that just keeps on uncovering each episode. The characters were amazing, there was so much to them that meets the eye. Whatever the first impression you had of the characters, just know that you'll end up misjudging them. I didn't have any character that I hated, despite them having their flaws it became impossible not to love them. The acting was superb, I felt the emotions. This show had was mixture of everything and the way that it executed was amazing done. The transitions they had was done flawlessly that you forgot that you were just crying a moment ago. It was impressively relatable yet exaggerating(comedy) at the same time. I could feel myself connecting to the characters. Hyun Jin and Do Yoon are couple goals, like their relationship is so healthy, which is so unlike kdrama couples. Even through they played with the viewers emotions by making us speculate there could have been an affair, I enjoyed how they executed the reason. The moms chemistry and interactions was so heartfelt. Sarang's mom was amazing, everything about her was wow, you were able to feel what she felt. Roo da was something else, she brought the balance to the relationships, I like how she was more than she let on. While Hye Jin (her mother in law) wanted to out on a front that she didn't care, I liked how she grew to love her the way she was. I felt so bad for Sprout's mom, her baby died, I cant even imagine what she went through. I enjoyed the the bit of thriller that was included, it kept me more engaged. So many other things happened that just added to the enjoyment of the show but I wouldn't want to spoil it all. The music was quite catchy. Overall the show was beyond enjoyable and underrated. I just hate the fact it endedWas this review helpful to you?
A Must Watch Drama..!!!
This drama was unique and worth watching for all the viewers with a heartwarming and Beautiful narration which gives you a total refreshing experience till the end. So the whole story was focusing on a entirely different atmosphere, which we haven't seen much before in dramas and that was the main attraction here.Birthcare Center is a postpartum care center for all mothers who just give their delivery. Simply its a mother care center. They say it's a paradise for all the mothers who has no idea of to do what next after their delivery. So here the story is mainly focused on a married couple at first pace, there the wife was a working women in fact a managing director of a big concern and she got pregnant unexpectedly one day and frankly her whole world went upside down after that with stressful days and all, after all the struggle finally she give birth to her child and then she entering into postpartum care center.
And the story really begins, There she met other moms and the main story again splitting with them and they also becames the main character for the rest of the Episodes. They all coming from different backgrounds and slowly become close to each other, then the story eventually moves between them.
So many factors that i found really interesting throughout this whole drama. They wonderfully managed everything with some really funny narration at the same time there includes some intense emotional scenes with strong characters and also trust and understanding of each other by the couples etc.. which was something really beautiful to see.
Another important factor it was only an eight Episode drama. So the narration was really fast apart from some other long dramas, without any dragging. Especially the last 4 Episodes was the soul of this drama.its kind of feel like improving Episode after Episode and grow more into our hearts. All the characters are relatable with real life and there are some Beautiful life quotes which was a good life reality they showed.
Overall birthcare center was a must watch drama you can watch and finish with a smile and also with full satisfaction. Definitely give it a try if u have time
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Great drama
This drama isn’t really the type of drama I would usually go for but I really enjoyed it.the story and the plot were very interesting and I liked how it wasn’t very rushed. It’s a great binge if your looking for something short.I recommend watching it if your into finding out more about motherhood because it’s the main focus of this story. Or if your just bored and want something to watch.
I loved the characters in this drama and I thought there acting was amazing. And I think all the characters had a lot of character development.
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super underrated!
This drama does a fantastic job talking about the journey of pregnancy, birth, and the stigma of a working mother. The writer does a great job using various stories about birthcare that gracefully tie in with the main plot. There is mini subplot that is sort of a flop in comparison to the main story, and I agree with other review that Birthcare Center could have been more diverse, but with only 8 episodes, I think this drama did the best it could have.Watching this drama, I haven't laughed this hard in a while. Overall, I think its a great binge watch and I highly recommend it :)
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A must watch!
Loved, loved this show.Binged it, and absolutely do not regret it. It was funny, emotinal and also suprisingly educative. I always knew pregnancy wasn't exactly a bed of roses, but never really knew the complexities involved. This was an eye-opener for me. Might seem a bit too much to say this, but watching this drama makes me feel like I would be able to make better informed decisions regarding my own pregnancy when I choose to have a kid later on in life.
A very fun, emotional show with great friendships, do watch!
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One of the best dramas of 2020
I chose to watch this because it looked pleasantly different from "mainstream" dramas and fulfilled that expectation.Birthcare Center is indeed a breath of fresh air and stands out with an extremely talented cast and good production.
This drama manages to tell an interesting story full of humor, moral and doubts with eclectic characters in just 8 episodes. Best is, you can relate to the characters even when you're not a mother yourself.
The story is what draw me in. I found it intriguing to watch a drama about a first-time mother who has no clue about childcare and seems lost in this new world. The first episode is about the pregnancy and birth (non-graphic) and was filled with such great humor that I ended up laughing so hard at most of it and was immediately hooked. Later there were also touching moments that made me cry because I felt for the characters and I was fully into the story by episode 3 and just binge watching it to the end. Definitely worth watching.
The cast is well chosen. Each actress or actor nails the performance of their character and I wouldn't dare to say one stood out. They are equally talented and it's one of those dramas where you have so many interesting characters with so many layers that you just wanna know more about them. Even though this drama is rather short with only 8 episodes, each main character got the chance to shine and shine they did.
I like the OST a lot. It has quite catchy melodies such as SAAY with the song "Hey Mama" and more calming tones in "Beautiful Destiny" by Sohyang and "Revive My Time" by Jayins. Worth listening to on its own.
Birthcare Center has many reasons for rewatching:
- Storyline that does not get boring because it has so many facets (aka amazing script)
- Characters that grow to you
- Outstanding females (characters and actresses)
- Some of the funniest scenes I have ever seen
- Character growth and healing
- Melodrama that is comprehensible and well written
- length of drama is pretty convenient for rewatching
My advise: Give this drama a try. It's a gem!
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This review may contain spoilers
A must watch for men and women
As a mother, I was drawn to the show to find out what Birth Centre was all about. I found the show relatable on the whole.Of course, there were some parts that weren’t that believable but it’s a drama after all and not real real life. The women were walking too comfortably and normally which is unlike how most women who have given birth naturally do... but, this is a show after all. Most parts were realistic.
I recommend this show for teens - boys and girls - so that they understand that pregnancy and childbirth are NOT walks in the park and to be careful with birth control.
I recommend this show for husbands, especially fathers-to-be, so that they know a little bit more of what pregnancy and child birth are like for their wives / partners. Pregnancy and birth are difficult.
I like the part in the show where the Manager of Serenity Postpartum Care Centre says: it’s very different from what you expected. Everyone says pregnancy and labor are beautiful but it isn’t necessarily true for all women. Pregnancy is exhausting, labor is cruel and the recovery process is miserable. — I totally nodded my head in agreement. It is a blessing to have a healthy baby but a mother’s sacrifices should not be ignored. A newborn baby’s needs are of utmost importance but a mother’s needs are equally (if not more) important. A mother has to be well to take care of her baby.
Another part which resonate was: the wicked 5 kg which can’t to gotten rid of (nods), the saggy boobs due to breastfeeding, the postpartum hair loss (terrible and horrifying).
The show was generally fast-paced and entertaining other than some scary bits. The show deals with weighty issues like a newborn’s death and how mothers are under pressure to be perfect mothers and wives and to continuously sacrifice to be seen as good mothers.
I like that show ended with: a good mother isn’t a perfect mother but a happy mother who’s happy with her life and thus, happy with her child. I think a main takeaway is that mothers are also human beings who should be seen and recognised for who they are and not simply as “so and so’s” mother. A mother is a unique individual and should be seen as one too (other than being a mother).
I recommend this for teens - watch to understand what not to get yourselves into.
I recommend this for husbands / fathers to be - to understand your wives / partners better.
I recommend this for women / mothers - to know that we are all in this womanhood / motherhood together.
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