I had the opportunity to watch the film, "The Business of Being Born," and my mind was opened up to a whole new possibility of giving birth. I have a close friend who is studying Midwifery and in the past I was always excited about what she was out to do, but watching this video really solidified for me the benefits of having a home birth. Midwives can make what to me is a scary experience, giving birth, into a safe and amazing spiritual journey. The video does an amazing job of following different women in their pregnancy and giving birth at home and in the hospital, while showing the history and reality of what goes on in a hospital setting. Although the video is biased towards home birth, in the end I was grateful for the way that it really shocked me and inspired me to research more on the topic of giving birth. Also, hearing about the hospital side of the issue from my sister in medical school, she is convinced that it is necessary to face the rates of cesarean births in the U.S. today and question why they are so high, how this is affecting the babies and mothers, and what other options are out there.
I definitely highly highly recommend watching the video to all women of any age. (I am not even close to thinking about having a baby, yet I feel like I greatly benefitted from seeing this film!)
Check out the preview:
http://thebusinessofbeingborn.com/