This Is Life

This movie depicts a tale of the extreme ordeals that four pregnant women and their families go through when giving birth in hospital:
Placenta praevia centralis, twins, severe diabetes, haemorrhages and operations that cost RMB 50,000. Should a pregnant woman without medical insurance and with only RMB 5,000 insure herself or the baby? Strength of will, passion, tears shed in the ward. Doctors, patients, family members, friends, a desperate effort to raise cash, births and tales of life or death.

In the operating theatre, one pregnant woman experiences bleeding in the uterus. The doctor’s only option is to perform a hysterectomy, but the woman insists on keeping the uterus and comes face to face with death twice, as the doctors prepare for a breathtaking fight to save the lives at stake.

Determined to have a son, one woman is in her third pregnancy. In the late stages of pregnancy, her uterus is already paper thin and her life hangs in the balance. Having gambled with his wife’s life, the husband begins to repent as the family descends into tears of anxiety.
In the 28th week of pregnancy and suffering from hypertension, there is no sign of movement from the fetus. The family are worried that something has gone wrong, and asked the doctors to perform an induced labor. The doctors insist on performing a cesarean to rescue the baby. Whether or not to save this young life becomes a point of contention and conflict between the family and the doctors.

Chen Xiaofeng, from Yunnan, has moved to the mountainous area of Dabie Mountain to be with her husband. She is pregnant with twins. Due to a situation of placenta praevia centralis, she is confronted with the prospect of vaginal bleeding at any time. She is transferred to Central South Hospital and needs an operation that will cost around RMB 50,000, but for some reason she has no medical insurance and all her husband can manage to borrow is RMB 5,000. The hospital urges her husband to raise the funds, and money becomes the biggest obstacle facing these three lives that rest on a knife’s edge. Her husband is left in a state of despair. His brother and sister head back to their home village to try and raise the cash, but their fellow villagers are all broke, they cannot get a loan from the bank and they cannot mortgage their house. In the end, they finally scrape to gather the RMB 50,000. The mother did not suffer massive hemorrhaging after all, and the babies were taken to the ICU ward. The premature twins now require treatment to the cost of RMB 200,000. At a loss, the family plan on giving them to a wealthy family, desperate to save their lives. In the end, with the hospital and their family’s help, the mother and children come through this ordeal intact.

Xia Jinju and her husband are working in Guangdong. At 33, she unexpectedly becomes pregnant. She faces an extremely dangerous situation of placenta praevia centralis. Moreover, the placenta has pierced the uterus and penetrated deep into her bladder. To prevent a miscarriage, in the 32 week of pregnancy she has a caesarean. She suffers from hemorrhaging of the uterus on the operating table and her heart stops on two occasions as the doctors and nurses fight to keep her alive, finally pulling her back from the brink of death. After such a dramatic experience, Xia Jinju praises the doctor, Li Jiafu, as her savior.

Zeng Xianchun is a mother of two girls from the country side in Henan. In order to give her family a son, she becomes pregnant for the third time. Like Xia Jinju, she also suffers from placenta praevia centralis and her life is in constant danger. Seeking medical help, she travels from Xinyang to Wuhan, but none of the hospitals will agree to admit her. With no option, Central South Hospital accepts this dangerous case. New surgical methods allow Zeng to avoid the same trauma that Xia Jinju experienced, and the whole family try their upmost to save the premature baby.

During a check-up in her 28th week of pregnancy, Li Shuangshuang discovers that she is suffering from high blood pressure, and that her baby has chronic hypoxia and an irregular heartbeat. The situation does not improve after treatment and her family are worried that the child will have developmental problems and could well suffer from birth defects. Therefore they appeal to the local Family Planning Commission for an induced labor certificate and go to Central South Hospital for the operation. The hospital informs Li Shuangshuang that she cannot have the operation as the baby is past the 28th week of pregnancy, has a heartbeat and that without the necessary medical indicators, the doctors cannot take the baby’s life. In the end, both parties reach an agreement to perform a caesarean that day. The operation is a success, but as the birth is premature and the baby is not developed enough, it must be taken to the ICU ward for treatment. Li Shuangshuang and her family are concerned that the child will be disabled. Not only will it lead a life of suffering, but now the whole family will face destruction under the weight of this burden. The doctors recommend doing what they can to save the baby immediately and give it a chance at life. Both parties become caught up in a fierce argument and face a difficult decision.