The Bussines of Being Born

LOVED it!! I walked out of the theater crying and wanting to go again the next day. There wasn't a dry eye in the theater.

Hi J., I thought it was a really powerful movie- obviously biased toward those of us who want the natural childbirth experience. But it was also very informative of how little that really gets to happen once you're on the medical-models timeline of what they consider a "natural" birth. For all of the women I know who have had interventions though, I also have to give Ricki a lot of credit for the end of the film where her friend, who directed the film, wound up having to have a c-section. Ricki definitely came a step back from the Michael Moore style of film making by acknowledging that in the end, the thing that is really most valuable is to have a healthy baby, no matter what, or how, the journey went to get there.

J.,

The Business of Being Born is an amazing film and I love that the ending was different that one would have expected. I think Rikki Lake got a lot of unecessary bad publicity about the movie. She did an good job at exressing 'her' views.

If you like that, you might try seeing Orgasmic Birth at the Museum of History and Industry this coming Monday! Check it out. You sound like you love birth, have you ever thought about becoming a birth doula?

J. M, birth junky :)

I have been dying to see that movie I was just wondering where did you rent it from. Cause I hear about it around two months ago and have wanted to see it ever since.And I am three months pregnant and have three children already and they have so many questions I want to check this movie out and see If it can be a little help Thanks in advance.

I saw it at a mass showing. I thought it was great.

I don't think it was as biased as it could have been. I think she really tried to get information about the hospitals and their process but had no cooperation from ACOG and AMA. Therefore it really seems much more biased than it is.

S.

I love love love this movie. It's beyond time that someone speak out about the birth crisis in America.
I personally think that EVERY woman thinking of having a child should see this movie. There is a time and a place for medical help when there is a real problem. Normal, natural, healthy birth needs to be left alone.
My first son was a hospital birth, all the bells and whistles, very very close to becoming a C-section due completely to interventions. He was not breathing when he was born and it was a very traumatic experience for me.
My second and third little boys were born at home in my bed where they belonged. The second, with a very capable nurse midwife attending. The third with a very capable, amazing midwife (Midwife Ann, listed here) available for monitoring while my husband and I brought our son into the world. Both truly amazing, life changing experiences for both of us, and in my opinion, the only way a normal healthy pregnancy should end!
It's about time a movie like The Business of Being Born was made!

Hi J., I also watched it instantly on Netflix. I really liked it too. I am a natural childbirth proponent, but also have nothing against those that choose more medical intervention. It's every family's/mother's choice, and it's nice to live in a country where we have these options; especially in life-threatening cases. I mostly liked how informative it is. I enjoyed watching the crazy history of childbirth in America--we've come along way! I think anyone trying to figure out which route to take concerning delivery should watch these types of films. It's good to see what it is all about and that midwives aren't the old lady next door--they are very educated, well-trained and talented women. Also, delivering a child isn't scary; it's a beautiful and natural life experience, whichever way one chooses.

For Nicole D: I would not show this to a child. It's not that type of film. The purpose of the film was to show how great natural childbirth can be in a society that mainly relies on hospitals and doctors. It doesn't focus on "where the baby comes from" or anything like that. It does show live births and I believe there is even some cursing in it. Definitely for a more mature audience.

I watched the movie through Netflix, and then purchased my own copy. I'm pregnant with my first child and hoping for a natural/water birth. I will be using a hospital, but have midwives & a doula, so I hope I'm doing all I can to ensure that I have the experience I'd like (but I'm terrified!!!). I found the film very informative, and biased, but not as biased as it could've been. I hope all pregnant mamas watch the movie, just so they can be informed.

J.,

I have not seen this film, but I had a natural birth with my son and used a midwife about a year ago. It was an incredible experience, and the delivery went better than I could have ever dreamed. With my daughter (first child), I tried to go natural but ended up getting an epidural and almost had to have a c-section because I stopped progressing. After using pitocin, I ended up having an easy vaginal delivery except for the horrible episiotomy. My daughter weighed a little over 8 lbs. My son weighed almost 10 lbs, and I just had a small tear. The recovery was so much easier. It was painful, but after I pushed him out, I felt great and was ready to go home. The midwife and L&D nurse did a fantastic job. I will always cherish the beautiful birth experience.

I thought this movie was very interesting and informative. I agree with the other comments that have been made that it is definitely skewed to the homebirth opinion, but I think they do a good job of representing both sides of the debate honestly. I also thought it was good that they showed that the assistant had to get a cesarean, showing that sometimes hospitals deliveries are necessary and things don’t always go as planned. I thought it was very smart of her to choose a hospital OBGYN just in case she needed him, it ended up being a very good choice on her part.

By the way, if you have netflix you can watch it online instantly (that's what I did). For Nicole, you didn’t say how old your daughter was, but I think this is a little gruesome to show to young girls. Maybe if your daughter is over, say…12? …then parts of it would be OK.

I'm a perinatal nurse (mostly L&D but also NICU and postpartum) and watched the film. I thought it was biased but not as biased as some films that I have seen through the years. There were a few things that really struck me though - on the underwater births, it seemed to take a very long time for the baby to take it's first breath. I've always been uneasy about that type of birth - they seemed to go fine in the film but in reality, if I was in attendance, it would make me a little nervous waiting for that first breath and would have stimulated the baby a little more.

What I found really interesting was that the midwife was not wearing gloves at all for any of the deliveries. I just can't imagine that and wonder about the safety of that for her and her clients.

I do get a little defensive when people talk about all the interventions that happen once you enter the hospital. It really depends on where you go. I know that where I work, we strive to really work with the women to give them the birth experience that they want - whatever it is. Some desire an epidural upon entering the door and others want basically a "home birth" in the hospital. I don't know any nurse that I work with that would be pushing interventions on a woman. We are concerned about both the safety of the mother and baby and sometimes people don't understand all the implications of what is going on and may feel pushed into something. Sometimes things happen so fast that we do just act for safety and don't have time to explain and discuss everything. When that happens, we really try to go over it afterwards and "debrief" with the woman and her family.

I do think though that women can not really know how much childbirth hurts until they go through it. It is hard to explain that pain to someone and everyone does experience it differently. Even one woman can experience the pain differently with each birth. It is difficult to watch a woman struggle with the pain and then feel like a failure if they decide to use medical pain relief. No woman should feel like a failure for going through birth or changing her mind about a plan. It is a lesson in raising children - things don't always go as planned no matter how well you plan.

I saw this movie twice. I thought it was very good, especially for a "persuadamentary" as my husband calls it. It is biased towards home birth as everyone has said and paints MD's and hospitals in a very neg light. What I took away from this movie is that women don't give themselves enough credit and don't educate themselves enough when it comes to childbirth. If you know the options, the risks, the choices, you can have a great hospital birth. If you don't you can have a scary, horrible home birth. The movie definitely makes you think and gives you a different perspective, so I think it's awesome if just for that.

Yes, the movie was very moving and very bias. I do love that the movie was trying to go one way(showing the natural, home-birth, non-medical) and having it end with the need for medical intervention because of an early, sickly baby born to the co-producer. It shows that there are reasons that babies are born in the hospital. I am a very strong believer in the mother and the birthing process and more power to those that can do it naturally and/or at home. Because I cannot trust myself to birth my baby at home, I am glad I have a wonderful doctor and hospital to help me.

i have a question for you. what age do you think it's appropriate to show to kids? or is it? my daughter has asked where babies come out and i've told her but i wonder if this is too gruesome for her.