Kudos, I think what you are presenting to the public is an amazing and much needed bit of information to all pregnant couples that are facing a hospital birth. As the author of HEY! WHO'S HAVING THIS BABY ANYWAY? www.heyanyway.com I too, after working in Labor and Delivery as an RN, was shocked and sickened by the way providers were treating their pregnant and laboring women while in the hospital. I've seen many many unnecessary medical interventions and unnecessary cesareans. As not only an RN but also a midwife and doula I have seen the difference between and home/clinic and hospital birth. I have seen how alert and vigorous a newborn is when left to come into the world as natural as possible and on the other hand I have seen infants who have had so many interventions they end up in NICU. I'm currently working in an NICU in San Diego whose L&D has a 98% epidural rate and before the weekend and holidays has an 85% cesarean rate. I am so excited to see this film circulate throughout the US and I'm so excited to see pregnant couples become aware that providers and hospitals aren't always working for them but for the convenience of the provider and the profit of the hospital. Thank you, Thank you and thank you again for putting this film and information together. Breck Hawk, RN, midwife, doula, childbirth educator and author of Hey! Who's Having This Baby Anyway?
When I found out I was pregnant in December I knew I wanted a birth that was natural. After touring the birth center at my local hospital my husband and I decided that there was no way I was going to deliver in a hospital. Now that I am planning a home birth, I am met with sketpicism and looked at like I am crazy. Thank you for doing this documentary. I hope my family and friends will see it and understand why I am having a natural home birth.
As a young woman who has not yet been pregnant I know and trust that my body will do what it needs to do in order to carry a healthy baby, labour and birth without medication and interference. But what does scare me is not knowing if I'm strong enough to stand my ground and make sure those around me will let me, trust me that I can do this, my body can do this on it's own. I hope your movie will be released in Ontario, Canada too. I can't wait for my husband to see it so he too can trust that a midwife and my own instincts are all we'll need.
It's about time someone steps up and shows what is really going on with child birth. I cannot wait for this to hit the big screen. Thank you for putting this together.
It's unbelievable to me that hospital births have become the "norm". Birth is normal. Normal births happen more often AT HOME. Obstetrics was invented to help out when labor strayed from normal....and now women are lead to believe that having a baby with an obstetrician instead of a midwife is normal. Sorry, it just isn't. I am shocked at the statistics posted by Breck. I'm so glad that this film is being made and have forwarded the trailer to every one I know in addition to linking it on my blog.
Fabulous! The TRUTH will find a way to be heard. I just finished reading "The Birth House" by Ami McKay, an incredible story about a midwife that takes place in early 20th-century Nova Scotia. This book and sites such as this help us remember the strength and empowerment to be found in a community of women. Take charge of your body, its rhythms and its knowledge!
I just spoke to a group of students at UNF about sexuality and pregnancy and lets just say they were blown away. Whats scarier their text book's technical information about birth was just flat out inaccurate. I am a doula and childbirth educator and I live in Jacksonville Florida where there is only one, two-room birth center and one direct entry midwife.. in a city of a million people...some of our hospitals have estimated 60-75% c-section rates!!! I am so appreciative of this documentary...my grassroots approach to educating our community really needs something as compelling as this!!! In appreciation our family has donated to this cause and we encourage others to give..obviously things happen easier when we speak with our pocket books. We would be even more delighted if this won more Oscars than Gore's crappimentary. Anyway, keep on keeping on..and I would gladly give you a few of my hours if so needed. www.fcdoulas.org
I am really relieved to see this documentary being made. We gave birth last October. Both my baby and I were healthy. Still, my husband and our doula had to fight with the doctor to keep me out of unnecessary interventions. Really fight. I couldn't wait to leave the hospital. We learned our lesson. Next baby will be delivered by a midwife.
The world has to change the way that it treats pregnancy and birth.
I can not even BEGIN to tell you how THRILLED I am that someone is FINALLY exposing our sick, twisted birth culture for what it is! Having a baby should NOT be a medical emergency, but instead a normal process in the human life cycle. I think that most Americans would be shocked to find out how horribly low we rank in the world with our birth outcomes and that the countries that do best are ones which MIDWIVES attend most births AT HOME, where a normal, healthy birth belongs! I wish you ALL the very best and hope that this really begins to not only open up a dialogue in our country but to start to change peoples opinions of birth. I am certainly doing my best to promote you as much as I can!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Abbie www.ThingaMaSling.com Custom-Created Baby Slings
I understand that everyone has the choice where they will have their baby and that all hospitals are not equal. But, I had a baby last spring it was a normal pregnancy and normal birth. She looked great and was smiling and even breast feeding. But, about an hour after she was born one of the nurses who used to be a NICU nurse noticed that something might be wrong. It ends up that she was born with some of her intestines missing. She then had to be raced to the closest major children's hospital and she then had to stay in the hospital for the first 8 months of her life.
She is home now and doing great. But if the nurse hadn't caught that problem when she did, my daughters outcome would have been very different.
I firmly believe that if she would have been born at home, she would not be here today. Also, thanks to the insurance company we have not had to pay for a single penny of her medical bills.
I support everyones choice to do what they want, but not every birth goes perfectly or child is born is perfectly. Please keep that in mind.
I sympathize with the person who posted as the mom of a baby born with issues. The post implied "my baby's problem would not have been discovered if we had not been in a hospital". This inference is false. Your daughter's condition was safely treated because of the training of the nurse, not because of your location when it was discovered. Professional midwives are trained not just in childbirth and complications of the pregnancy phase of life, but also in recognizing issues such as your daughter's in the newborn.
A properly trained home birth attendant would also have noticed these issues in your daughter and she could still have received timely treatment. The issue addressed by this documentary is not in conflict with your daughter's case but illustrates the gross inadequacies of our US birthing system with the rest of the industrialized world. How could the other industrialized countries be getting it better than the U.S. overall if our U.S. system worked better? The logical conclusion is that our system doesn’t work better. We can do it better and also address issues such as your daughter's. Neonatal health issues do not cease to happen in other industrialized countries, they simply have treatments which work yet don't put mothers and babies at risk for the sake of profit or convenience of the medical system. Best wishes as your daughter recovers, but please don't assume your daughter would not have received timely treatment with a professional home birth attendant.
Kudos to you as you promote this film. Please keep us all advised. Even if it is not released in theaters I would be interested in purchasing a copy for my own daughters and daughters in law to have.
I wish I'd had this sort of resource to explain to my family so that I could have received support for a homebirth instead of the ordeals of my 4 hospital births. Having attended many home births and also attended hospital births, it's obvious the difference is in favor of home births.
Thanks for doing this! Next up - a docu. on Breastfeeding in America!! Warmly, Colleen Newman, author of Near Mama's Heart, a children's book about breastfeeding. www.NearMamasHeart.com
this looks fantastic. can't wait to hear more about it, and to see it when it comes out. should be an amazing vehicle for generating much-needed discussion.
Thanks so much. I wish I had trusted my body and not gone to the best OB/GYN around. They did not listen to my birth plan and certainly caused the fetal distress of my daughter. I had no medical risks, but my doc put stuff in my record to appear that way. How do I know that? I am a nurse and know how to read a medical record. My water was broken without my permission. I was given pitocin without my permission, and yes, after both these interventions, that is when things went bad with my daughter. My doctor wrote that I had prodromal labor--I did not. She wrote in the record that my membranes ruptured naturally--which they did not. She stated I had a fever of unknown origin--my temp was 99'.
So, yes, I had a birth rape---split wide open in a few minutes and it was all down hill from there.
I am sure my doctor thought she was helping me. Funny thing is that my labor was going well until she arrived.
Thanks for listening. I am sure this is a COMMON theme.
I am so thankful for this documentary.
Please post where we can donate to give to more works like this one.
My midwife ignored my preeclampsia and I finally had to make the decision to transfer care on my own. My immune system and my baby's placenta were having a royal fight; it was a true obstetric emergency and there was nothing to be done but deliver.
It cuts both ways. Some doctors engage in unnecessary interventions; some midwives fail to engage in necessary interventions.
In both cases, more education about the way births actually go is what's needed.
Thanks for making this film. When will it be released? This conversation is SO important. I'm pregnant with my first and as I've read and researched and talked to people, it just blows my mind how disconnected we are about birth in this country.
I can't believe a midwife would ignore preeclampsia. She should definitely be reported.
I had an excellent midwife. My husband and I planned a home birth, but because my blood pressure was high (though not in the textbook preecclamsia range due to the fact that normally my blood pressure is very low) and because my membranes ruptured naturally at 36 weeks and 2 days, she suggested we go to a hospital. We did, but first we labored at home a really really long time. By the time we got to the hospital they didn't have time to f*ck with us. We arrived at 3 am and my son was born healthy and normal at 5 am. They didn't put a single hole in me and I only had to endure continuous fetal monitoring for a brief time. My second was born at home last July and it was a terrific experience. Even without interventions at a hospital, a home birth is better.
I had a home birth with unforeseen complications after the birth and an attendant midwife and birth assistant. They were able to address the complications and monitored me closely to see if we had to transfer. We never did. I was able to recover comfortably at home. The only medications I had were after the baby was born, healthy and sweet! They took great care of me. Our neighbor who is from another country said she couldn't believe an American woman was birthing at home - "American women just don't do that", she said. It made me sad that that was her impression.
Even with the complications, I would have it no other way. Our next birth will be at home, if there aren't major risk factors, and I trust my midwives completely to help me make sound decisions about my pregnancy care and my baby. My family was beside themselves about my birth plan and begged me not to birth at home. They even tried to use my complications as proof that I should have been in a hospital. The respectful way my midwives cared for me was all the proof I needed that I had made the right choice.
I look forward to this movie with great anticipation!
I was treated like a crazy person by most people for having my third baby at home. The first two were complicated &/or painful deliveries in the hospital. The third time, I got educated, got a midwife, and did it right. It has changed the course of our entire family's life.
The ridicule I took from friends, family, and doctors really lowered my opinion of many individuals. They can't stand up to the *marketing* of hospital birth? What does that say about our culture?
(I'm considering a documentary, myself, and that's how I found your page. More power to you! Looks awesome!)
I live in England and many woman hire private midwives and have safe, exhilerating, and self empowering labours at home. With the use of midwives, chiropractors, homeopathy, hypnobirthing and birth pools it is very realistic and safe to give birth at home. It's about time we got back to our roots and traditions that worked! Dr. Kirk
I hope this movie makes it into theatres. It is exactly what this country needs. Maybe some people will wake up and realize that childbirth is NOT a medical procedure in most cases, so let's get childbirth OUT of the hospitals and INTO the homes!!!
I hope your movie looks at ALL aspects of the rising cesarean rate. I firmly believe that close to the top of that list is the rising rates of obesity and morbid obesity in this country.
The sad truth is that less than 1/3 of my current patient population would be good candidates for home birth because their BMI is greater than 30 prior to pregnancy.
I refer them all to dieticians and educate on the risks of excessive weight gain and consumption of refined sugars mostly to deaf ears.
In short, I hope your movie tackles this issue as a co-conspirator to our alarmingly high c/s rates. I'd be willing to bet big money that if our average BMI was the same as the Netherlands - our c/s rate would be better as well.
The next 2 big issues with this topic are continuous fetal monitoring and bottom-line >75% of my patients wanting an epidural before their even in active labor.
My patient population is 100% military and military dependents with an average age of 18-24.
When I had my first child, I researched everything, questioned everything, and picked my doctor based on solid research and my higher risk (pre-eclampsia)
We discussed birth plans, we talked about every detail. One reason I chose her was actually because she was foreign... she was from India... so she believed in doing it all as naturally as possible... she recommended the more traditional diets, herbs, etc. She recommended breastfeeding the first time I met her... for maintaining uterine health (she was also a gyno and stayed my gynecologist until we moved), for the baby, for all the best reasons.
Not only that, but she was a mother, who had breastfed her child for 2yrs and was pregnant with a baby whom she would breastfeed that long.
She was the happy medium between the modern and the traditional, the midwife and the obstetrician.
We moved during my second pregnancy and I was worried about that, because I had loved the thought of her delivering my baby.
My pre-eclampsia had been so bad we ended up needing to do a c/s...
But we had pleasantly surprised each other when, upon meeting the first time about my 2nd pregnancy, we each thought we would have to pursuade the other about VBAC.
I had material, research, all kinds of information because I hated the control and power over everything I had lost with the first baby.
I knew that, because I was having a VBAC, I needed to go with an OB, and I had loved having her the first time.
She had come in thinking she would have to convince me...
It appauls me that women don't automatically want to try for a vaginal birth whenever possible.
It sickens me that there are doctors who don't take the position that the safest and best thing for baby is to try first for a vaginal birth... second for however the baby needs to be born to be healthy, of course.
When we moved, we moved to an area where there was no choice of practices. There was one hospital, one OBGYN place, that was it. No midwifes, nothing.
I had what can only be described as an intimidating experience.
When I met with the doctors, it was always a different one. Each wondering why my c/s wasn't scheduled.... and me having to explain that all the info was there about my previous doctor recommending and approving a VBAC (which they would try to talk me out of)
The hospital policies were horrible.... requiring me in bed flat on my back the whole time.
I honestly think that, because my VBAC was successful, if I had been more confident in my body and myself, and not so afraid that something would go wrong just because I'd had to have a c/s the first time, I would have just stayed at home and "not made it in time" to the hospital.
With my third baby, we were in yet another state, but we purposefully moved where there would be plenty of options for doctors and midwifes, should we have another child.
I consulted with different ones when I got pregnant and honestly felt most comfortable with the male ob/gyn... he was the father of 5 children, had a very comforting air about him, and believed in trusting the female body and not rushing ot induce or do anything with interventions unless truly needed.
Not only did I like him better than the selection of midwifes that my insurance covered (he was more calm, comforting, less worried, and more confident about doing a VBAC (even though I'd had one, the midwifes seemed to worry about it... because my 2nd baby had been almost 9lbs and had a huge head and shoulders), but he was willing to deliver at the hospital I wanted (recommended by my mil, who also believed in the more natural way... she had delivered my husband there and walked around, sat in a rocking chair, and did as she pleased with intermittent monitering and no IV... she only got up in the bed to be checked (when she stated they better hurry because the baby was coming immediately) and then push.
The collective between all of them was that they were concerned my third baby would be larger than my second (she was not)
And he was the only one who not only would be willing to do another VBAC, but believed in them and was confident that just watching my baby's size, trusting my body to adjust, and just making sure I didn't go TOO far overdue, we could definitely avoid the c/s.
In the end, while I did get induced (I was over a week overdue with no sign of labor and, because of my past c/s, they wanted to do it slowly if they did it... it took 3 days of gentle induction before it took and then I dilated to 4cm and they broke my water... then, a mere 5hrs later, I had my baby... because boy did my body go quickly then. For the record, if I hadn't been dilated at all (I was already a good 1.5cm), he would have waited one more week to induce.
because of the induction, I did have to be monitered more often than otherwise, but because the nurses were used to the midwifery unit and of course also used to doctors who were more relaxed, they encouraged me to walk, shower, to meditate through pain, all the best things.
I really feel that everyone should have a doctor/midwife who is informed, should be informed herself, and, no matter who delievers her baby or if she (after having already had a birth and knowing the signs of problems) has an unassisted home birth, that she make an educated decision on what's best for her.
I also think that c/s for no medical reason should be illegal.
It's surgery.
My doctors and the midwifes I talked to have all expressed concern not just for the mother, but the baby, who then does not get the chest compressions which help to clear the lungs and speed the expelling of the mucus and such that coats the lungs and nasal passages.
THANK YOU for having the insight and courage to tackle this subject. I am a single mother of a 2.5 yr old who, only because of augmentation (unecessarily induced pregnancy) had an emergency c-section. I never planned on a home birth and because of my situation was left with few hospital/midwive choices. But I had a birth plan in place and was prepared to face everything naturally. At 7 days past my due date they insisted on inducing me and being terrified that my child might be in danger I tearfully complied. As time passes and I learn more and more about our medical system, the more infuriated and saddened I become at the experience I was robbed of. I could not hold or nurse my child until he was 2 hours old due to all the drugs they gave me. I know now that no matter what situation I am in, that If I ever have another child that it will be at home, safe from the doctors. Thank you for this great service to American women. Can't wait to see this film!
Congratulations from ALL at www.birthworks.co.za (South Africa)and thank you for highlighting this epidemic!
“With all the medical technology that’s available we have forgotten that women are very good at giving birth.”
The World Health Organisation recommends a Cesarean section rate of no more than 15%. In South Africa, where the private hospital cesarean section rate is 60-80%, one of the highest in the world, we clearly do need to be reminded that the birth process is a very special thing, that labouring women should not be disturbed, and most importantly, that women are indeed very good at giving birth.
I don't agree with what I have seen in the trailer at all. I have had three babies in hospitals and my expereinces were fantastic. I am not sure I would see this movie.
Women in the US need to wake up and stand up for themselves and their babies. Where are the husbands and fathers? Why aren't men being their wives advocate during labor?
Its time to speak up people!
I'm planning my first within the next few years and I'm doing everything I can to educate myself about my options and rights. I live in Redding, CA and we only have one hospital that delivers babes- a catholic one at that! They say that they are open to natural birth and respect womens choices, but I've seen many friends and siblings deliver there and they were all treated like crap.
Luckily we have a few midwives in town so I know I can still have a "hands off" delivery!
This movie looks amazing. My friends and I talk about this topic all the time. We are hurt by our birth experiences, and we feel betrayed by the so-called "experts" that we trusted to do and know what is best for us and our babies. We are angry with ourselves for trusting. It is true that we need to be our own experts, and this carries over to so many other areas of life as well.
Looking back now, I wish I had protected myself and my baby from unnecessary medical intervention. The doctors and nurses will go about their lives as usual, but we are the ones who will have to live with the effects of what we subject ourselves and our babies to when we walk in those hospital doors. We must start taking responsibility for our children and ourselves.
It is so sad...I wish we could remember our births, or our babies could talk because I think we would be horrified by what the first few days are really like for a baby in the hospital....from his first few minutes of bright lights and people passing him around poking and prodding him....tests and needles, and so many strangers... I look at the pictures of my son coming home from the hospital and he looks like a wounded soldier. His wrists and ankles are bandaged from being poked by needles for shots and tests. He was healthy. I was healthy. I will not let my next child's life begin this way.
43 Comments:
This is cool dude.
Kudos, I think what you are presenting to the public is an amazing and much needed bit of information to all pregnant couples that are facing a hospital birth. As the author of HEY! WHO'S HAVING THIS BABY ANYWAY? www.heyanyway.com I too, after working in Labor and Delivery as an RN, was shocked and sickened by the way providers were treating their pregnant and laboring women while in the hospital. I've seen many many unnecessary medical interventions and unnecessary cesareans. As not only an RN but also a midwife and doula I have seen the difference between and home/clinic and hospital birth. I have seen how alert and vigorous a newborn is when left to come into the world as natural as possible and on the other hand I have seen infants who have had so many interventions they end up in NICU. I'm currently working in an NICU in San Diego whose L&D has a 98% epidural rate and before the weekend and holidays has an 85% cesarean rate. I am so excited to see this film circulate throughout the US and I'm so excited to see pregnant couples become aware that providers and hospitals aren't always working for them but for the convenience of the provider and the profit of the hospital. Thank you, Thank you and thank you again for putting this film and information together.
Breck Hawk, RN, midwife, doula, childbirth educator and author of Hey! Who's Having This Baby Anyway?
This post has been removed by the author.
When I found out I was pregnant in December I knew I wanted a birth that was natural. After touring the birth center at my local hospital my husband and I decided that there was no way I was going to deliver in a hospital. Now that I am planning a home birth, I am met with sketpicism and looked at like I am crazy. Thank you for doing this documentary. I hope my family and friends will see it and understand why I am having a natural home birth.
As a young woman who has not yet been pregnant I know and trust that my body will do what it needs to do in order to carry a healthy baby, labour and birth without medication and interference. But what does scare me is not knowing if I'm strong enough to stand my ground and make sure those around me will let me, trust me that I can do this, my body can do this on it's own. I hope your movie will be released in Ontario, Canada too. I can't wait for my husband to see it so he too can trust that a midwife and my own instincts are all we'll need.
It's about time someone steps up and shows what is really going on with child birth. I cannot wait for this to hit the big screen. Thank you for putting this together.
Holy cow, It's about stinkin' time somebody did something like this. I can't wait till your movie is released!
Too bad the only place I was able to actually see the trailer was your myspace page. I'll be linking people to your site on my blog.
Kudos!
It's unbelievable to me that hospital births have become the "norm". Birth is normal. Normal births happen more often AT HOME. Obstetrics was invented to help out when labor strayed from normal....and now women are lead to believe that having a baby with an obstetrician instead of a midwife is normal. Sorry, it just isn't. I am shocked at the statistics posted by Breck. I'm so glad that this film is being made and have forwarded the trailer to every one I know in addition to linking it on my blog.
Fabulous! The TRUTH will find a way to be heard. I just finished reading "The Birth House" by Ami McKay, an incredible story about a midwife that takes place in early 20th-century Nova Scotia. This book and sites such as this help us remember the strength and empowerment to be found in a community of women. Take charge of your body, its rhythms and its knowledge!
I just spoke to a group of students at UNF about sexuality and pregnancy and lets just say they were blown away. Whats scarier their text book's technical information about birth was just flat out inaccurate.
I am a doula and childbirth educator and I live in Jacksonville Florida where there is only one, two-room birth center and one direct entry midwife.. in a city of a million people...some of our hospitals have estimated 60-75% c-section rates!!! I am so appreciative of this documentary...my grassroots approach to educating our community really needs something as compelling as this!!! In appreciation our family has donated to this cause and we encourage others to give..obviously things happen easier when we speak with our pocket books. We would be even more delighted if this won more Oscars than Gore's crappimentary. Anyway, keep on keeping on..and I would gladly give you a few of my hours if so needed. www.fcdoulas.org
I am really relieved to see this documentary being made. We gave birth last October. Both my baby and I were healthy. Still, my husband and our doula had to fight with the doctor to keep me out of unnecessary interventions. Really fight. I couldn't wait to leave the hospital. We learned our lesson. Next baby will be delivered by a midwife.
The world has to change the way that it treats pregnancy and birth.
Finally, a film about the hospital machine. Read Susanne Arms books.
I can not even BEGIN to tell you how THRILLED I am that someone is FINALLY exposing our sick, twisted birth culture for what it is!
Having a baby should NOT be a medical emergency, but instead a normal process in the human life cycle.
I think that most Americans would be shocked to find out how horribly low we rank in the world with our birth outcomes and that the countries that do best are ones which MIDWIVES attend most births AT HOME, where a normal, healthy birth belongs!
I wish you ALL the very best and hope that this really begins to not only open up a dialogue in our country but to start to change peoples opinions of birth. I am certainly doing my best to promote you as much as I can!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Abbie
www.ThingaMaSling.com
Custom-Created Baby Slings
I understand that everyone has the choice where they will have their baby and that all hospitals are not equal. But, I had a baby last spring it was a normal pregnancy and normal birth. She looked great and was smiling and even breast feeding. But, about an hour after she was born one of the nurses who used to be a NICU nurse noticed that something might be wrong. It ends up that she was born with some of her intestines missing. She then had to be raced to the closest major children's hospital and she then had to stay in the hospital for the first 8 months of her life.
She is home now and doing great. But if the nurse hadn't caught that problem when she did, my daughters outcome would have been very different.
I firmly believe that if she would have been born at home, she would not be here today. Also, thanks to the insurance company we have not had to pay for a single penny of her medical bills.
I support everyones choice to do what they want, but not every birth goes perfectly or child is born is perfectly. Please keep that in mind.
I sympathize with the person who posted as the mom of a baby born with issues. The post implied "my baby's problem would not have been discovered if we had not been in a hospital". This inference is false. Your daughter's condition was safely treated because of the training of the nurse, not because of your location when it was discovered. Professional midwives are trained not just in childbirth and complications of the pregnancy phase of life, but also in recognizing issues such as your daughter's in the newborn.
A properly trained home birth attendant would also have noticed these issues in your daughter and she could still have received timely treatment. The issue addressed by this documentary is not in conflict with your daughter's case but illustrates the gross inadequacies of our US birthing system with the rest of the industrialized world. How could the other industrialized countries be getting it better than the U.S. overall if our U.S. system worked better? The logical conclusion is that our system doesn’t work better. We can do it better and also address issues such as your daughter's. Neonatal health issues do not cease to happen in other industrialized countries, they simply have treatments which work yet don't put mothers and babies at risk for the sake of profit or convenience of the medical system. Best wishes as your daughter recovers, but please don't assume your daughter would not have received timely treatment with a professional home birth attendant.
Kudos to you as you promote this film. Please keep us all advised. Even if it is not released in theaters I would be interested in purchasing a copy for my own daughters and daughters in law to have.
I wish I'd had this sort of resource to explain to my family so that I could have received support for a homebirth instead of the ordeals of my 4 hospital births. Having attended many home births and also attended hospital births, it's obvious the difference is in favor of home births.
Thanks for doing this! Next up - a docu. on Breastfeeding in America!! Warmly, Colleen Newman, author of Near Mama's Heart, a children's book about breastfeeding. www.NearMamasHeart.com
This post has been removed by the author.
this looks fantastic. can't wait to hear more about it, and to see it when it comes out. should be an amazing vehicle for generating much-needed discussion.
When does the movie come out????
Thanks so much.
I wish I had trusted my body and not gone to the best OB/GYN around. They did not listen to my birth plan and certainly caused the fetal distress of my daughter.
I had no medical risks, but my doc put stuff in my record to appear that way.
How do I know that? I am a nurse and know how to read a medical record.
My water was broken without my permission. I was given pitocin without my permission, and yes, after both these interventions, that is when things went bad with my daughter. My doctor wrote that I had prodromal labor--I did not. She wrote in the record that my membranes ruptured naturally--which they did not. She stated I had a fever of unknown origin--my temp was 99'.
So, yes, I had a birth rape---split wide open in a few minutes and it was all down hill from there.
I am sure my doctor thought she was helping me. Funny thing is that my labor was going well until she arrived.
Thanks for listening. I am sure this is a COMMON theme.
I am so thankful for this documentary.
Please post where we can donate to give to more works like this one.
My midwife ignored my preeclampsia and I finally had to make the decision to transfer care on my own. My immune system and my baby's placenta were having a royal fight; it was a true obstetric emergency and there was nothing to be done but deliver.
It cuts both ways. Some doctors engage in unnecessary interventions; some midwives fail to engage in necessary interventions.
In both cases, more education about the way births actually go is what's needed.
pp I hope you reported your mw for negligent care...that's terrible.
Thanks for making this film. When will it be released? This conversation is SO important. I'm pregnant with my first and as I've read and researched and talked to people, it just blows my mind how disconnected we are about birth in this country.
I can't believe a midwife would ignore preeclampsia. She should definitely be reported.
I had an excellent midwife. My husband and I planned a home birth, but because my blood pressure was high (though not in the textbook preecclamsia range due to the fact that normally my blood pressure is very low) and because my membranes ruptured naturally at 36 weeks and 2 days, she suggested we go to a hospital. We did, but first we labored at home a really really long time. By the time we got to the hospital they didn't have time to f*ck with us. We arrived at 3 am and my son was born healthy and normal at 5 am. They didn't put a single hole in me and I only had to endure continuous fetal monitoring for a brief time. My second was born at home last July and it was a terrific experience. Even without interventions at a hospital, a home birth is better.
I had a home birth with unforeseen complications after the birth and an attendant midwife and birth assistant. They were able to address the complications and monitored me closely to see if we had to transfer. We never did. I was able to recover comfortably at home. The only medications I had were after the baby was born, healthy and sweet! They took great care of me. Our neighbor who is from another country said she couldn't believe an American woman was birthing at home - "American women just don't do that", she said. It made me sad that that was her impression.
Even with the complications, I would have it no other way. Our next birth will be at home, if there aren't major risk factors, and I trust my midwives completely to help me make sound decisions about my pregnancy care and my baby. My family was beside themselves about my birth plan and begged me not to birth at home. They even tried to use my complications as proof that I should have been in a hospital. The respectful way my midwives cared for me was all the proof I needed that I had made the right choice.
I look forward to this movie with great anticipation!
Looking forward to the movie.
THANK YOU
I was treated like a crazy person by most people for having my third baby at home. The first two were complicated &/or painful deliveries in the hospital. The third time, I got educated, got a midwife, and did it right. It has changed the course of our entire family's life.
The ridicule I took from friends, family, and doctors really lowered my opinion of many individuals. They can't stand up to the *marketing* of hospital birth? What does that say about our culture?
(I'm considering a documentary, myself, and that's how I found your page. More power to you! Looks awesome!)
this is going to be epic!!
I live in England and many woman hire private midwives and have safe, exhilerating, and self empowering labours at home. With the use of midwives, chiropractors, homeopathy, hypnobirthing and birth pools it is very realistic and safe to give birth at home. It's about time we got back to our roots and traditions that worked! Dr. Kirk
I hope this movie makes it into theatres. It is exactly what this country needs. Maybe some people will wake up and realize that childbirth is NOT a medical procedure in most cases, so let's get childbirth OUT of the hospitals and INTO the homes!!!
I hope your movie looks at ALL aspects of the rising cesarean rate. I firmly believe that close to the top of that list is the rising rates of obesity and morbid obesity in this country.
The sad truth is that less than 1/3 of my current patient population would be good candidates for home birth because their BMI is greater than 30 prior to pregnancy.
I refer them all to dieticians and educate on the risks of excessive weight gain and consumption of refined sugars mostly to deaf ears.
In short, I hope your movie tackles this issue as a co-conspirator to our alarmingly high c/s rates. I'd be willing to bet big money that if our average BMI was the same as the Netherlands - our c/s rate would be better as well.
The next 2 big issues with this topic are continuous fetal monitoring and bottom-line >75% of my patients wanting an epidural before their even in active labor.
My patient population is 100% military and military dependents with an average age of 18-24.
Can't wait to see the movie!
-Nurse Midwife in the DOD system
This is fabulous.
When I had my first child, I researched everything, questioned everything, and picked my doctor based on solid research and my higher risk (pre-eclampsia)
We discussed birth plans, we talked about every detail. One reason I chose her was actually because she was foreign... she was from India... so she believed in doing it all as naturally as possible... she recommended the more traditional diets, herbs, etc. She recommended breastfeeding the first time I met her... for maintaining uterine health (she was also a gyno and stayed my gynecologist until we moved), for the baby, for all the best reasons.
Not only that, but she was a mother, who had breastfed her child for 2yrs and was pregnant with a baby whom she would breastfeed that long.
She was the happy medium between the modern and the traditional, the midwife and the obstetrician.
We moved during my second pregnancy and I was worried about that, because I had loved the thought of her delivering my baby.
My pre-eclampsia had been so bad we ended up needing to do a c/s...
But we had pleasantly surprised each other when, upon meeting the first time about my 2nd pregnancy, we each thought we would have to pursuade the other about VBAC.
I had material, research, all kinds of information because I hated the control and power over everything I had lost with the first baby.
I knew that, because I was having a VBAC, I needed to go with an OB, and I had loved having her the first time.
She had come in thinking she would have to convince me...
It appauls me that women don't automatically want to try for a vaginal birth whenever possible.
It sickens me that there are doctors who don't take the position that the safest and best thing for baby is to try first for a vaginal birth... second for however the baby needs to be born to be healthy, of course.
When we moved, we moved to an area where there was no choice of practices. There was one hospital, one OBGYN place, that was it. No midwifes, nothing.
I had what can only be described as an intimidating experience.
When I met with the doctors, it was always a different one. Each wondering why my c/s wasn't scheduled.... and me having to explain that all the info was there about my previous doctor recommending and approving a VBAC (which they would try to talk me out of)
The hospital policies were horrible.... requiring me in bed flat on my back the whole time.
I honestly think that, because my VBAC was successful, if I had been more confident in my body and myself, and not so afraid that something would go wrong just because I'd had to have a c/s the first time, I would have just stayed at home and "not made it in time" to the hospital.
With my third baby, we were in yet another state, but we purposefully moved where there would be plenty of options for doctors and midwifes, should we have another child.
I consulted with different ones when I got pregnant and honestly felt most comfortable with the male ob/gyn... he was the father of 5 children, had a very comforting air about him, and believed in trusting the female body and not rushing ot induce or do anything with interventions unless truly needed.
Not only did I like him better than the selection of midwifes that my insurance covered (he was more calm, comforting, less worried, and more confident about doing a VBAC (even though I'd had one, the midwifes seemed to worry about it... because my 2nd baby had been almost 9lbs and had a huge head and shoulders), but he was willing to deliver at the hospital I wanted (recommended by my mil, who also believed in the more natural way... she had delivered my husband there and walked around, sat in a rocking chair, and did as she pleased with intermittent monitering and no IV... she only got up in the bed to be checked (when she stated they better hurry because the baby was coming immediately) and then push.
The collective between all of them was that they were concerned my third baby would be larger than my second (she was not)
And he was the only one who not only would be willing to do another VBAC, but believed in them and was confident that just watching my baby's size, trusting my body to adjust, and just making sure I didn't go TOO far overdue, we could definitely avoid the c/s.
In the end, while I did get induced (I was over a week overdue with no sign of labor and, because of my past c/s, they wanted to do it slowly if they did it... it took 3 days of gentle induction before it took and then I dilated to 4cm and they broke my water... then, a mere 5hrs later, I had my baby... because boy did my body go quickly then. For the record, if I hadn't been dilated at all (I was already a good 1.5cm), he would have waited one more week to induce.
because of the induction, I did have to be monitered more often than otherwise, but because the nurses were used to the midwifery unit and of course also used to doctors who were more relaxed, they encouraged me to walk, shower, to meditate through pain, all the best things.
I really feel that everyone should have a doctor/midwife who is informed, should be informed herself, and, no matter who delievers her baby or if she (after having already had a birth and knowing the signs of problems) has an unassisted home birth, that she make an educated decision on what's best for her.
I also think that c/s for no medical reason should be illegal.
It's surgery.
My doctors and the midwifes I talked to have all expressed concern not just for the mother, but the baby, who then does not get the chest compressions which help to clear the lungs and speed the expelling of the mucus and such that coats the lungs and nasal passages.
THANK YOU for having the insight and courage to tackle this subject. I am a single mother of a 2.5 yr old who, only because of augmentation (unecessarily induced pregnancy) had an emergency c-section. I never planned on a home birth and because of my situation was left with few hospital/midwive choices. But I had a birth plan in place and was prepared to face everything naturally. At 7 days past my due date they insisted on inducing me and being terrified that my child might be in danger I tearfully complied. As time passes and I learn more and more about our medical system, the more infuriated and saddened I become at the experience I was robbed of. I could not hold or nurse my child until he was 2 hours old due to all the drugs they gave me. I know now that no matter what situation I am in, that If I ever have another child that it will be at home, safe from the doctors. Thank you for this great service to American women. Can't wait to see this film!
Congratulations from ALL at www.birthworks.co.za (South Africa)and thank you for highlighting this epidemic!
“With all the medical technology that’s available we have forgotten that women are very good at giving birth.”
The World Health Organisation recommends a Cesarean section rate of no more than 15%. In South Africa, where the private hospital cesarean section rate is 60-80%, one of the highest in the world, we clearly do need to be reminded that the birth process is a very special thing, that labouring women should not be disturbed, and most importantly, that women are indeed very good at giving birth.
Can't wait to view this documentary
when can we see this documentary?
it is time for a new way ...of birthing not only our children but our self love and POWER as women.
to trust our bodies ...and intuition in all moments. thank you for bringing this to the forefront. i support your mission
I don't agree with what I have seen in the trailer at all. I have had three babies in hospitals and my expereinces were fantastic. I am not sure I would see this movie.
Thank you for producing this much NEEDED film!
Women in the US need to wake up and stand up for themselves and their babies. Where are the husbands and fathers? Why aren't men being their wives advocate during labor?
Its time to speak up people!
I'm planning my first within the next few years and I'm doing everything I can to educate myself about my options and rights.
I live in Redding, CA and we only have one hospital that delivers babes- a catholic one at that!
They say that they are open to natural birth and respect womens choices, but I've seen many friends and siblings deliver there and they were all treated like crap.
Luckily we have a few midwives in town so I know I can still have a "hands off" delivery!
This movie looks amazing. My friends and I talk about this topic all the time. We are hurt by our birth experiences, and we feel betrayed by the so-called "experts" that we trusted to do and know what is best for us and our babies. We are angry with ourselves for trusting. It is true that we need to be our own experts, and this carries over to so many other areas of life as well.
Looking back now, I wish I had protected myself and my baby from unnecessary medical intervention. The doctors and nurses will go about their lives as usual, but we are the ones who will have to live with the effects of what we subject ourselves and our babies to when we walk in those hospital doors. We must start taking responsibility for our children and ourselves.
It is so sad...I wish we could remember our births, or our babies could talk because I think we would be horrified by what the first few days are really like for a baby in the hospital....from his first few minutes of bright lights and people passing him around poking and prodding him....tests and needles, and so many strangers... I look at the pictures of my son coming home from the hospital and he looks like a wounded soldier. His wrists and ankles are bandaged from being poked by needles for shots and tests. He was healthy. I was healthy. I will not let my next child's life begin this way.
SO What is NEW with Pregnant in America? When is it coming out?
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