My review of The Business of Being Born

Over the weekend I saw a screening of Ricki Lake's film about birth, The Business of Being Born.

I was hoping it would be a fairly educational film about harmful hospital practices and routines, and ways of circumventing the system to have the birth you want. It partially fulfilled my requirements.

The film was lovely. Most of the births were just beautiful. They made me want to be in labor.

Much of the information was accurate and poignant. They cited the high cesarean section rate in this country and talked about the snowball effect of hospital interventions and how rarely medical staff see births that proceed naturally, on their own, without augmentation or interference.

Good stuff. If you haven't heard it before, it makes you think.

Interviews with Dr. Michel Odent, Ina May Gaskin, and Robbie Davis-Floyd were wonderful. They seemed like old friends and I wanted to hug them. Dr. Odent is amazing.

However...

There is an obvious bias throughout the film, and because of this I no longer call it a documentary. It is more like propaganda, and while I do not disagree with the basic message it's trying to promote, I find its tactics dishonest enough to be objectionable. It ends up portraying that "home births are always good and hospital births are always terrible," which is not true.

Home births are generally safe; I'm not arguing that here.

But they can be scary, too. Not every woman is able to or should have a home birth. Women should be where they feel safe; otherwise they won't labor as effectively.

Hospital births are not evil. You must understand what is happening, seek a care provider who will meet your needs and work with you, and fight harder to have things the way you want. But being in the hospital, all by itself, is not a bad thing. I believe we've come to a point of crisis in childbirth because of something else in the culture:

The greatest evil, one that was not addressed in the film, is the profound lack of education among women about birth.

It isn't for lack of educational opportunities. It's a dangerous complacency, a feeling of laziness and unwillingness to learn. Without knowing your options, not knowing the risks and benefits of common procedures, you are potentially like a lamb going to slaughter, no matter where you birth. You will not know what to expect or understand the kinds of effects anything might have, good or bad, on you and your baby.

It's not a good situation for anyone.

But I digress. This problem wasn't mentioned in the film. (Neither were doulas, which was personally discouraging for me.)

Instead, OBs claimed that c-sections were safer for all women, midwives talked about being too empathetic to he helpful to laboring moms, and the film ended with the emergency transport and c-section of the film's director for a rare complication. How many women left that night feeling more anxious about labor?

It isn't as simplistic as the film portrayed. Place of birth matters, but what matters more is education. If you aren't educated, you won't be able to make any decisions with confidence. And birth, no matter what happens, no matter how it proceeds, will deeply affect you. You will always remember how you gave birth.

It's a film worth seeing, for the things it gives women to consider. It will be available on Netflix in February. But keep in mind that these things aren't quite as simple as portrayed.

Who gave birth at home recently?

Some names you might recognize:

Dave Matthews and wife

Dave Matthews and his wife, Ashley, kept the sex of their baby a surprise. Matthews said, "We'll keep the magic of our eyes being the witness." The baby, August Oliver, was born at home on June 19th.

Charlotte Church

Now 21 years old (not 12 as I always imagine), Charlotte Church gave birth to her daughter at home in a birthing pool on September 20th. Her boyfriend, Gavin, was present for the birth. Charlotte: "I was telling you I loved you, wasn't I? Saying 'I love you, but I can't do this!' You were brilliant, you kept saying, 'Just get through this one.'" Gavin: "I felt a bit weepy the other day because I looked at her, and she looked so lush and I thought about the birth and it was so perfect, so it was just with happiness..." She is co-sleeping with and breastfeeding her baby.

Ani DiFranco

Ani gave birth to her daughter at home on January 20th. Ani said, "Having her has brought me a lot of peace and joy and made me think about a lot of things that I didn’t before. Birth is the epicenter of women’s power."

AJ Langer

Allison Joy Langer (she played Rayanne on My So-Called Life) delivered her daughter at home in California on January 31st. She had a waterbirth with her husband in attendance.

Joely Fisher

Joely Fisher gave birth to her daughter at home in what she calls a "spectacular" experience. "But I decided to have her at home and had a lot of friends around and of course her father was there. And of course, the doctor, the doula, the midwife, the butcher, baker and candlestick maker."

Josie Maran

Model and cosmetics entrepreneur Josie Maran delivered her baby in her backyard. Very eco-conscious, she uses a hybrid cloth diaper with flushable inserts that biodegrade completely. Of her birth, she says, "I practice what I preach."

Lisa Bonet

Actress Lisa Bonet, now known as Lilakoi, gave birth to her daughter at home on July 21st. the baby's name is Lola Iolani Momoa. The middle name means royal hawk, and was chosen as there were hawks flying around [overhead] during the birth.

On this note, look into Ricki Lake's documentary, The Business of Being Born, coming to a city near you. On January 19th (an Saturday) it will be shown in Las Vegas and Sacramento.

If you are reading this, I expect you to be there.