2008/Not Rated(Probably PG-13)/Documentary
I was slightly apprehensive to view this film as the Queen of Hearts and I are expecting our little Wild Card in September. But, The Business Of Being Born was recommended and I thought it ought to be viewed far from the actual delivery as possible... just in case.
I was pleasantly surprised by the genuine, non-emotional, statistically backed argument put forth by Ricki Lake and the other producers of this piece. It wasn't full of scare tactics like some other documentary film makers (Michael Moore), and it wasn't an emotionally wrenching tug-at-your-heart-strings attempt to get people to change how they give birth. This was a straight forward, well balanced recommendation for home births.
I'm an excellent audience member for this film. Several times the film brought up the realization that, for centuries, women have been giving birth at home but we've only been giving birth hospitals for a few decades. I'm someone who won't take an aspirin because pain medication is so new, so that evidence resonates with me.
However, the flip side of that is that the mortality rate of mothers and children was incredibly high in the middle ages (whereas so few people die of a headache...). I believe that moving birthing into hospitals wasn't simply a "business" move as the film depicts, but was an attempt to lower maternal and infant mortality rates. The trouble with that is two fold: Healthy pregnancies don't need all of the precautions that an at risk pregnancy does. Secondarily, as we become a more litigious society, doctors are moving faster in implementing the interventions, which is causing unnecessary complications for perfectly normal pregnancies.
Personally, I'm not even considering a home birth. My ideal would be what we had for our little Full House. Mid-wives at a birthing center close to a hospital. This way one has the chance for a natural close-to-home birth, but also has the convenience of the hospital nearby if necessary.
One of the most compelling storylines of the film was that of the producer. She was going to have a home birth but had complications and had to go to the hospital. If nothing else, the footage of the cab ride from her apartment to the hospital was enough to dissuade me from having a home birth.
All in all, I felt it was a very compelling argument for midwives verses hospitals. Not only that, but it was a very disturbing and enlightening expose on what we did to women who had hospital births earlier in the century. Some portions were a tad long and unnecessary but they had a great mix of crunchy to average midwives and had a few doctors who shared their opposition or support of the practice of home births. If you are pregnant, thinking about having kids, or have kids and want more, I would recommend checking out this documentary to assist you in the very important decision of how and where to have your child.
3.5 out of 5.
4 comments:
Great review. I write for a mom blog and passed the link to this article on to my friend/contributor. Hope you don't mind. :)
No, actually I'm honored!
Feel free to pass along any of my posts. If I didn't want them read, I wouldn't write them :)
Marc...didn't see the movie (haven't heard of the movie), but enjoyed your commentary just the same. As a doc who delivers babies, I have to concede that hospitals do sometimes cause complications rather than just treat them...and those complications can be devastating (e.g. wrong blood transfused, surgical mistakes). Personally, I've never witnessed a major complication in the hospital that resulted in severe morbidity or mortality. But I have witnessed circumstances in childbirth that required emergent or urgent care only an equipped hospital could provide. There is a reason our infant/maternal morbidity and mortality is significantly less than it once was and still is in some parts of the world. That being said, one of my fellow family doc friends recently had a child via home birth (mom's choice, not my friend's). Baby and mom did great.
I think your compromise of delivery with certified nurse midwives near a hospital is a good one.
This was extremely difficult to watch while pregnant! That's probably mostly due to the fact that I can't believe I have to go through all that all over again! Unlike hubby, I HAVE considered homebirth - but largely b/c our hospital requires 5 (!) people to be in the room with the birthing couple. First the midwife, then the labor/delivery nurse, next in comes the baby nurse, an ob (so the insurance company can bill him instead of the midwife), and finally, a pediatric hospitalist (I think that's what they're called). With our first little one, we only had our midwife and a labor/delivery nurse! I thought that was plenty! ANYWAY, so due to that fact, I've considered birthing at home. On the other hand, I'm never totally happy with my home's level of neatness so I can just imagine not being able to totally relax because I didn't have a chance to put something away!
But back to the movie. I have a really hard time suggesting pregant friends (and sisters!) watch this movie - especially those carrying their first! You just squirm through the whole thing. On the other hand, I think one should have as much info as possible before making a decision about where to give birth. So ultimately, I think it's a great movie to see - it'll surely make you think - but just be cautious if you're expecting!
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