The Business of Being Born is a great watch. This map doesn’t do it justice. From IMDB:
While the United States has perhaps the most advanced health care system in the world, it also has the second-highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation, and many have begun to question conventional wisdom regarding the way obstetricians deal with childbirth. While midwives preside over the majority of births in Europe and Japan, fewer than ten percent of American mothers employ them, despite their proven record of care and success. How do American doctors make their choices regarding the way their patients give birth, and who is intended to benefit? Director Abby Epstein and producer Ricki Lake offer a probing look at childbirth in America in the documentary The Business of Being Born, which explores the history of obstetrics, the history and function of Midwives, and how many common medical practices may be doing new mothers more harm than good.
If you have Netflix you can watch it online. There were 2 or 3 water births
in the film, which Meghan and I had to go back and review because they were so amazing-looking.
All that said, Meg and I are going to go celebrate NOT being pregnant, and NOT wanting to be.
Trailer:
While I’m not sure what the explanation for high infant mortality rates is, I can tell you I’ve been through the birthing machine twice. In the first case, they almost killed my wife (and neglected to tell us, until the second time around) and the second time, they’d tried to do the exact same things that almost killed her the first time. Only the anesthesiologist (a guy) spending time talking to us and decided to pull the case file let us know what happened, and kept them from doing the same thing again. To the near-rage of our ob-gyn (who had a vacation to go on, and was a woman; so much for the female bedside manner) who just wanted to get ahead with the near-death of my wife so she could make her plane. I dunno if it’s a hospital-vs-midwife thing, per se, but obviously you’re likely to find more caring and attenting folks midwifing than your are ob-gyning. The thoughtful and patient anesthesiologist probably saved my wife’s life, and possibly the baby’s, too.
Needless to say, that was the last time we saw that obgyn.
I’m starting to freak out a little..!! I haven’t seen this film yet, but I’m hunting it down. I am 29 weeks pregnant and have been planning the “American way” style birth for most of my pregnancy. I started out seeing a midwife, then when my blood pressure was too high, she told me I needed to go to a “real doctor”. Then she refers me to a friend of hers. I wasn’t impressed with the friend and found a different doctor. So here I am realizing that I may have allowed myself to be brain washed, and I’m scared. I am on medicade now and feel stuck.
Kevin – I’m glad your wife and baby are okay!
Sheri – good luck to you! tons of healthy babies are born in regular hospitals every day.
This film literally changed my life, as well as my fiances. We had an amazing and beautiful water birth at home, and are a few months away from doing it again. Since seeing the film and after the birth of my son, I plan on becoming a childbirth educator, doula and my goal is to be a midwife. Trusting your body, your baby and the birth process is a wonderful thing, and I recommend this film to anyone/everyone!