Originally posted in 2007
I was so excited to go to Belly Sprout, in Fullerton to see the Business of Being Born. I had heard good reviews of it and I love birth, so it seemed obvious I would love this film. Belly Sprout is a great little space, with natural items for babies and moms, with room in the back for classes or film screenings. It was fun meeting new people as we waited for the film to start.
The film overall was enjoyable. The intention of the film seems to be showing how homebirth can be safer and better than hospital births. There were interesting interviews and quotes throughout the movie. Some wonderful home births were shown. They were empowering to me as a natural childbirth enthusiast. These same births could be seen as scary by moms who are afraid of the pain of birth. As a Hypnobabies instructor, I know birth can actually be comfortable and enjoyable if you have the right hypnosis tools, so I wish a Hypnobabies birth had been included. I worry that some moms might see the births in this film and say that is why I am going straight for the epidural.
They did discuss some of the different problems that come up with hospital births. Including the cascade of interventions, though I wish they had been a little more explicit in that, because while as a childbirth educator I am well aware of what that entails, many women are not. It was fascinating to see OBs interviewed and when asked the question, “How often do you see a natural birth?” They were sitting there dumbfounded. The answer was basically never. My friend’s husband is doing his residency in Obstetrics and he agrees with this statement, they never see a normal, natural birth. They are taught not to be lifeguards, jumping in if something goes wrong, rather they are taught only how to actively manage birth, which leads to problems of their own. So how are they going to learn to support moms who want this?
The ending of the film ruined the whole film for me. I think it was important to show that at times it is medically better to have a hospital birth (in this case the baby was preterm and breech). This birth would have been better towards the front of the film, I am thinking after the OB says “95% of my job is boring, but then 5% is exciting/scary” Ok, show the scary birth at that point of the film, then spend the rest of the film showing the wonderful 95% that are safe at home. I think they were trying to have this moms story be one that wound its way throughout the film, but I really think its position in the movie undermines the whole purpose of the film.
Since this mom did end up with a cesarean, PLEASE use this as a chance to talk about VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and how next time this mom can have a vaginal birth and it would be ok. Tell the world about ICAN and how it is a wonderful organization to help moms avoid cesareans or recover from them if they have one. Let this film really educated and help the world in more ways than just homebirth. It would add maybe 1 minute to the film, but would have the potential of helping thousands of women.
Overall I guess I would give the film 3 out of 5 stars. If they could edit it and change where the cesarean birth is in the film I would make it 4 out of 5. I would not recommend my Hypnobabies Moms watch it while pregnant, as I want only positive images in their mind as they prepare for their births. But I do think it would be a great film to show in a college class to help women think about births before they are in that stage of life. If we educate women earlier about their choices in birth and their power as women and mothers, we can change the world!
where did you read about her VBAC?
http://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums/f139/abby-epstein-had-vbac-director-business-being-born-124646/
Warning, the birth story is not an easy birth. So if you choose to read, use your BOP (bubble of peace)
When I was about eight years old I found out that my mom had planned a homebirth with my little brother, who was two at the time, but ended up going into the hospital. I saw video of her walking up and down stairs and sitting in a birthing tub. It was a very casual learning experience and, although homebirth seemed a bit strange because of my previous exposure to my aunt giving birth and television and movies, it all seemed so normal and, well, casual! (my mom was also an extended breastfeeder and child-led wean-er)
All of this had been brought on by a friend of my parents visiting and bringing it all up so most of the conversation didn’t involve me, but I observed. I heard them talk about a doctor ordering a C-section (moms best friend had had two so I knew what it was, vaguely) for no reason and completely against my moms wishes. He later came to say goodbye, in his golf cloths.
Things where left at that for years.
At the time I had been really interested in medicine and animals. I watched animal planet at every chance I got. One of the shows was called “that’s my baby” and was just all about animals giving birth. I remember one cat having a surgical birth, but that was the only one. It was all so natural, beautiful and it fascinated me. I also watched a lot of discovery health, and with that came the baby shows, and OB ward shows.
This was my general exposure to birth up until i saw “The business of being born” when I was thirteen.
This documentary changed my life! It really opened my eyes to birth in a way that was extremely transformative. From there I have gone on to gather as much information about the maternity care systems in the US and around the world, about birth in general, and also breastfeeding. I think it is a GREAT beginner film and covers a lot of ground. I think that once people begin to open their eyes and process what they learned in the film they will be more open to things like VBAC.
I think that if we present people with the more fundamental issues in the system and a little bit of history they will be more accepting and able to focus on the extremely important emotional sides of birth as well as the medical mistakes involved in the average hospital birth. If we present it all as a rights issue and bring up the medical statistics I think people are just going to stick to what they think they know, because that is what they think they know. We have to fill in the gap where they are (for lack of a better term) clueless and allow them to gain this base knowledge that will make them understand that birth is safe (in most cases) and that women don’t need to be told what to do, and can therefor make informed choices and listen to their own bodies.
Today, people in the US see birth as being a painful emergency. Before we can make them see the injustices of the medical system that are imposed on women, we need to help people understand that these injustices aren’t necessary, and that is a gradual, difficult process.
I love that this movie was so eye opening for you! Thanks for sharing your experience.