The Business of Being Born, the film

My wife and I had 9 children. The last four were born at home between 1978 and 1987. We were way ahead of our time or way behind the time however you want to look at it, because during these years all babies were born in hospitals except for very, very, very, few. The people who gave birth at home either alone or with a midwife were considered to be very counter-cultural, or irresponsible, or crazy. Yet, 70 - 80% of babies in every first world country, except the United States, are born with a midwife, many at home.

Why is the United States with the second highest infant mortality rate of first world countries, so unusual in that it has professionalized and institutionalized one of the most natural functions in the world? As usual, follow the money. Birthing has become a big business even if it is bad for mothers and babies.

No woman in the United States should have a baby without seeing Ricki Lake's new documentary, released in 2008, The Business of Being Born. I highly recommend this film.

To watch the trailer, click here.

Link: The Business of Being Born (2008).

Comments

[Maureen Daniels]

Dad,
Rodney and I just watched this movie a few weeks ago, and I immediately wrote Mary and told her to move it to the top of her Netflix queue. I agree with you - no one should give birth in this country without seeing that movie. It spoke to my heart about all the things I had been feeling in the months prior to Donovan's birth, and I felt very validated. It also made me quite sad. I had so been hoping for an experience like those shown in the movie, and I still haven't quite shaken a depression I feel about the cesarean I ended up with. Despite the knowledge that I did what I had to do to ensure a safe delivery for my daughter, the truth is that the way she came in to this world was hugely disappointing to me and it feels as though all the months of reading and mentally preparing for a natural birth were for naught. I hope they were not and that I will still have the opportunity to eventually have my natural birth. Perhaps Ricki's next documentary should be on VBACs!