On Grey's Anatomy, Dr. Bailey should not bring her son to the hospital and she should not be wasting an intern's time by making her babysit.
I'm a feminist. I think the deck is stacked against women who have children. But I also think that Dr. Miranda Bailey on Grey's Anatomy should know better than to bring her newborn to work. Yes, this was very funny imagery, but it was totally unrealistic.
A newborn shouldn't be in a germ-littered hospital in the first place. Most first-time mothers are afraid to let their babies leave the house, let alone haul them to the surgical wing. In a scene from last night's episode a baby-toting Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) ran into Dr.Webber (James Pickens Jr.) who joked, "Are you going to bring him into surgery with you?"
"I'm not scheduled for anything today."
"But what if something comes up?"
"I can't solve problems until there are any," she says, which was a great line. But Dr. Webber is absolutely right; it doesn't matter if she is scheduled for surgery or not. She is on the clock, and therefore should be available for surgery. Plus, is she going to take her baby with her on her rounds? This was totally unprofessional, and Dr. Bailey should know better. Someone mentioned the nursery upstairs, which was a great idea. Hospital plus newborn equals maternity ward. Which means lots of beds and caretakers. Get thee offspring there stat.
Secondly, Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)was well within her bounds to tell Bailey that she was not a babysitter. Yes indeed Dr. Webber's worst fears materialized when an emergency case arrived and Dr. Bailey was called in to surgery. (In a hospital? Go figure.) Poor Yang was stuck feeding, diapering, and entertaining this kid, when her skills could have and should have been put to better use. She's an overworked surgical intern! Surely she was needed somewhere. But what really surprised me was that no one else was upset - they found it charming that Yang was stuck babysitting. But Bailey stepped over the line, and these people should have been outraged.
I realize that this is a no win situation. If Bailey had put her son in the maternity ward, then someone would have been angry that she had used up a bed. If she had a nanny at home, then people would have accused her of being a bad mother. I feel for Bailey, I do. I think that all women - and men - should be able to have kids and work. But to bring the kid to the surgical ward and then dump him on an intern to look after? No way.
