Ricki Lake Birth Documentary: The Business of Being Born

[~Kate~]

Can someone ease my mind on this...? I watched the trailer and I felt pride for the women who have empowered themselves but mainly I felt guilt that I couldn't do the natural woman thing. I feel like a failure for having to have a c/s. Maybe if I was to watch the whole thing it might be easier to take but I just felt that it was putting down c/s births

[Tobily]

Can someone ease my mind on this...? I watched the trailer and I felt pride for the women who have empowered themselves but mainly I felt guilt that I couldn't do the natural woman thing. I feel like a failure for having to have a c/s. Maybe if I was to watch the whole thing it might be easier to take but I just felt that it was putting down c/s births

Kate

I agree the trailer is quite confronting. But when you actually watch the film it isn't really about the "process" of giving birth. Sure birth is the subject matter but the film isn't your typical natural/vaginal/caesarean debate fodder.

It's about the birth business - the thrust of it is about intervention and interference, about how healthy women have been forced into hospitals to do something that is essentially a normal life event. The medicalisation of normal birth, and the way that we've become part of a production line. How we've lost trust in the process as a society, even women.

Even though there is some focus on the producers homebirth, even that is in the context of her wish to avoid being part of that system and to have the birth she wanted - not about homebirth being a "better choice" iykwim.

I'd hate for you not to see it because you feel that it's denigrating your birth...I've also had an unplanned caesarean so I know where you're coming from but I didn't find it left me feeling like that all.

[BellyBelly]

Kate - you'll have to watch it to see the full message it's putting out there. It doesn't attack mothers at all but blames a whole heap of things that ARE responsible for the massive increase in c/s. I'm not promoting this big time for sales, but because women NEED to see it. Its not just the USA - it's here - and we have a higher c/s rate than the USA. PLEASE watch it. I urge everyone to, nothing will change until you understand how women have been treated, manipulated, lied to... and it's very prevalent.

BellyBelly Pty Ltd - Shopping Cart

[~Raven~]

I don't think that the movie "puts down" c/sect births, rather it explains how a lot of them and augmented births end up happening.

Tali even though the birthing scenes are beautiful, the footage of what they used to do to women in labour is quite confronting and would be quite scary for a child. It shows old footage women being tied up and blindfolded
I would recommend that if you want to prepare your son for seeing a birth in the future that you watch it without him first so you can decide if he can handle the images. I wouldn't let mine see it.

[BeautifulMadness]

would you say its worth the money?

it sounds interesting but i am not sure what id get out of

[BellyBelly]

I've sold 100 in 1 week and not had one complaint, only loads of thank-yous for promoting/selling it. it is VERY worth it. I am getting in another 10 this week, no doubt they will go quick too.

[Snacks]

I thought it was well worth the money... But then, I was sympathetic already - it just reinforced something I already believed to be true.
I enjoyed the fact that they included differing PsOV - like from MWs and OBs. There were indeed some confronting scenes, but well worth seeing IMO.
And Kate, so sorry that you felt that way. I think I can understand, as IMO it does tend to focus more on the clinical aspect of c/s, and therefore it looks more negative emotionally IYKWIM. But it is certainly not criticising women who have c/s, but just as Tobily said, the push of the industry for women to have more medicalised births unnecessarily. IMO they are more about calling the industry to account, not birthing women.

[meow]

I think this movie highlights the important place c-sections have in critical situations, while at the same time showing the damaging effect the industry is having on birth in general. It is well worth seeing!!
I personally wouldn't share it with children as a preparation for birth- it's not that sort of documentary. I'd show them some lovely birth montages etc. to set them up for the beautiful experience of birth.