Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 05/06/2008 Rating: Nr

Amazon.com:
Is it conceivable that in the United States, profit is increasingly driving the business of birthing--sometimes at the expense of the best possible outcome for mothers and babies? Should birth be viewed and treated as a natural process or a potential medical emergency? This documentary, produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein, opines that money and fear are changing the way Americans give birth, and not necessarily for the better. Beginning with shocking statistics that the United States has the second-worst newborn death rate in the developed world and one of the highest maternal mortality rates in industrialized countries, the film presents interviews with medical professionals including Dr. Jacques Moritz, OB/GYN from St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital; Dr. Michel Odent, OB/GYN researcher; and Masden Wagner, MD, former Director for Women's and Children's Health at the World Health Organization. Each expert paints a dismal picture of American birthing and emphasizes the frequent overuse of medical procedures in what are otherwise potentially normal deliveries. Stressing the prevalent use of midwives in birthing in other developed nations (70% of births are attended by midwives in Europe and Japan, versus 8% in the U.S.), the documentary then follows Cara Muhlhahn, a certified nurse midwife in New York City, as she attends a variety of home births. The footage is candid and sometimes very graphic, showing various home-delivery methods, including water birth. Interviews with Cara and her clients emphasize their shared philosophy on birthing as a normal life process that, when attended by a caring and well-trained midwife, can be both empowering and exhilarating. Though a midwife is often characterized as a supportive, but medically untrained birth attendee, the film dispels that stereotype, stressing a good midwife's solid training and knowledge of when it's appropriate to seek outside medical intervention. Key in every birth is a commitment to doing what's best for mother and baby, regardless of pre-planned agendas. The filmmaker's lament is that hospitals and doctors often too quickly advocate medical intervention in the interest of saving time and avoiding potential litigation. While unquestionably advocating midwifery over hospital birthing, this documentary presents solid expert opinions, concrete facts and statistics, and anecdotal experiences of both mothers and midwives that are crucial in making an informed decision about the use of midwifery in birthing as well as enlightening as to the current state of birthing in the United States. --Tami Horiuchi

Rating : - Think you want or need a hospital birth? Watch this movie first!
This ground-breaking and controversial movie is also very entertaining. Your eyes will open wide, and your jaw may drop! Ricki Lake is a wonderful "maverick" behind this movie, but it is not about her. It is a very informative documentary on the history and state of maternity care in this country, which has completely lost sight of the normal, natural physiological process of childbirth.

Did you know that the World Health Organization recommends a cesarean rate of 10-15%, and that infant mortality increases when that rate is exceeded? Did you know that the rate of cesarean births in this country is over 30% and rising? But ask your OB and hospital what their rates are, because they may well be 40% or higher, depending on where you live!

Women and babies in this country are being done a tremendous disservice by the medical community. They are being robbed of an amazing, natural phenomenon for the sake of convenience and malpractice insurance. Please, do yourself and your baby a favor and educate yourself on your options for pregnancy and birth. For women in low-risk categories, birth outside of the hospital has been proven to be as safe or safer than birth in a hospital.

Parents and other individuals who are interested in pursuing a natural way of raising healthy, happy children should also read Healing Our Children: Because Your New Baby Matters! Sacred Wisdom for Preconception, Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting (ages 0-6) by Ramiel Nagel.