Sunnybrook Hospital in hot water over ’Gangnam Style’ birthing video

A Toronto hospital has pulled a humour video filmed by maternity ward resident students after it drew complaints online. The video, a parody of Korean pop song Gangnam Style, shows University of Toronto residents dancing around Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and acting out birthing scenes.

"Hey, pregnant ladies," one man sings. "OB/Gyne style."

It was posted to the hospital's Youtube channel on Dec. 14 and made the rounds on Facebook, where some people took offence.

Humanize Birth, a group that works for the rights of mothers to have more control over their births, organized a letter-writing campaign to demand an apology from Sunnybrook.

The group's founder, Kalina Christoff, said the video "dehumanizes women, babies and birth in general," pointing, for instance, to a scene where an obstetrician catches a baby like a football as it flies across the delivery room.

On its Facebook page, Sunnybrook wrote that the University of Toronto had requested the video be made private. A different Youtube account, however, has subsequently re-posted it.

So far, Ms. Christoff said, she has not had a response from the hospital. Sunnybrook spokespeople could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday night.