Idol ordeal too tough for mum, says midwife

Anna Galvan, with daughter Isabella, 3, says pregnant women can decide when to quit. Picture / Simon Baker

A leading midwife can understand NZ Idol's decision to dump a pregnant contestant if "extreme" activities such as bungy jumping and an Army assault course are included.

South Pacific Pictures dropped Horiana Patea, 25, from the top 18, saying the producers did not want to endanger her health or her baby's.

Patea has expressed anger, saying she felt able to continue, and the dumping has upset women's groups.

However, filming for this year's Idol will involve extreme sports, which the Weekend Herald understands will include bungy jumping, an Army assault course and outdoor sports such as skiing.

A midwifery adviser at the New Zealand College of Midwives, Norma Campbell, said pregnant women could do strenuous activities and sport, so long hours and a rigorous performance schedule were not reasons to exclude Patea.

"If it's just the pressure of singing and performing, that's fine and women are quite capable of knowing what their own limits are. But I certainly think if there are things like [extreme sports], then that is probably a conversation they have to have with a pregnant woman. If that is integral to the show and was explained to the woman when she first signed up, then I can understand the producer's decision."

While continuing to exercise was safe, most pregnant women would not risk sports such as bungy jumping or assault courses because the physical aggressiveness could damage the placenta and endanger the baby.

The show could have given Patea other options. "It's a recording contract they're after, not an extreme sports contract."

Jane Millichip, managing director of South Pacific Pictures, said factors in Patea's dumping included the ongoing pressure of the show and the more extreme events, which contestants had not been told of for reasons of confidentiality.

"I know she has criticised us and she believes that she is fit enough to take part, but Georgina [Patea] doesn't know what she is expected to do yet. She has no idea what is required of an Idol contestant in this series. She got through to a stage which put her under pressure and she did very well ... But she doesn't know what she'd be doing next. We do."

She had strident views about the right of women to work through pregnancy, but the show had to take some responsibility for contestants.

"We cannot design an entire series around a pregnant woman. It's not fair on her or the other contestants if she didn't take part in most things. It's a combination of her safety, her baby's safety and the practicalities of running a television show."

Patea had been offered automatic entry into the final 18 if there was a show next year.


... but it's OK to play a fast game of netball

Sting defender and former Silver Fern Anna Galvan is six months pregnant with her second child, and gave up playing top-level competitive netball only a month ago.

She played in the National Bank Cup until just before the semifinals, and says any woman has the right to make the same sort of decision.

"We chose not to tell anyone - including my family - I was pregnant until four months, because I didn't want everyone else's opinions having a bearing on how I felt. Which was that I was fit and perfectly able to keep going."

She's not the only one - women such as Julie Seymour and Tania Dalton were among the trail-blazers in deciding to stay on court when they were pregnant.

Galvan stopped playing when the coach decided her performance had slipped. "I couldn't do what I needed to do properly and safely," she said.

"Netball is a non-contact sport, but there are some big hits that you take. So it became not safe for me to do that."

She thinks Horiana Patea should have been allowed to make her own decision on whether she could stand the pressure of performing and being on a television show.

"I don't think that's right. I think people also have to understand that - in my opinion - the mother would never do anything to harm that unborn child. So if she feels that what she is doing is within her comfort zone, then why would she not be able to continue doing it?"

Galvan said it made her angry when people tried to pass judgment on what other women could do.

"I listened to the radio when they were discussing NZ Idol and I ended up turning it off because it had a lot of older people who commented negatively on women who were carrying on doing their normal activities when they were pregnant.

But I think that's because in their day they weren't allowed the opportunities to do what they wanted because of the societal pressures. These days we are not really too worried about what other people think."