Orgasmic Birth. That's the name of a new documentary in which women breathlessly recount their pleasure-filled childbirths and how much they enjoyed a really good push.
A scathing critique of the film appears in The Age: http://tinyurl.com/9yr9ek
I'm not going to comment on whether orgasms are possible during birth because I have no idea but I'm open to the idea. Has anyone experienced this? What do you think? An old (mid)wives tale?
Showing posts with label documentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label documentary. Show all posts
A tour de force of birth
I finally saw On The Business of Being Born (OTBOBB). Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein have created a film that will make you experience what feels like a lifetime of emotions in the short span of 85 minutes. Navigating the streets of New York with a lone midwife on a mission to bring birth back into the home, OTBOBB draws on the experiences of pregnant women as they navigate the bureacracy of the American maternity system. In between providing a brief history of medicalised birth, the most profound and ultimately moving feature of this film is the up close and very personal view of birth---something which most women have never witnessed until their own. Babies are born throughout this film in some of the most humbling and beautiful footage I have seen on the subject to date.
Whilst the American and Australian maternity are relatively similar, the glaring lack of midwives in the American system is where the cracks in the foundation begin to show. The overwhelming use of 'pit' or pitocin in New York hospitals where an astounding 90% of births are induced is the trigger for the cascade of interventions to which American women are subject in contemporary maternity wards.
Thus, it is easy to see how the production of oxytocin, the naturally occurring hormone in women's bodies that triggers birth and is also described as a 'love' hormone to help with bonding when the baby is born, is stifled in this environment. The use of 'pit' or syntocinin (in Australia) is a synthetic form of oxytocin. However, when women are induced with this synthetic form of oxytocin, contractions are much stronger. When contractions are stronger, there is more pain and it is no wonder that the obstetric residents in certain NY hospitals were shoving epidurals in womens' spines as soon as the pain started to increase. However, epidurals slow labour right down. Ironic, eh? Women are induced to speed labour up in order to keep more beds open and the turn-over high in American hospitals. Yet, induction = pain = epidural. This slows labour down and puts baby at a higher risk for complications. The naturally occuring oxytocin? Replaced with adrenalin, the 'fight-or-flight' hormone which is produced when women are afraid or feel unsafe. No natural endorphins, no oxytocin. Just fear, shame and 'failure'. And you know what happens next? Caesarean. NY state hospitals have some of the highest caesar rates in America, hovering at 46%. Birth centres are closing faster every day due to the daily battles against insurance companies, rising costs and the inability to compete with hospitals. Homebirths? Only 1% of all births in America.
OTBOBB portrays modern birth as a battle being waged on women's bodies. There are no 'choices' when birth is left in the hands of 'experts' and midwives are nowhere to be found. Australian women are lucky in the respect that 'normal' birth is largely left up to midwives. However, the intervention rate is still extremely high in Australia and there is a growing lack of trained midwives available to all of the women that need them. Hospitals are increasingly reluctant to hire midwives because it is a competition for their obstetric business. Moreover, private midwifery care is rarely covered by insurance but this is most likely changing.
I had chills watching this movie. There were times when I felt so angry watching women in hospital being moved around like cattle, being told they had to be induced without any information provided to them as to the risks of the procedures being performed on their bodies. Informed consent is pretty much non-existent in the American system. America has one of the worst infant and maternal mortality rates in the world despite being one of the richest countries. Why? Birth has been taken out of the hands of women and their bodies are used to line the pockets of insurance companies, hospitals and obstetricians who don't care about the process but only about the product. As long as a baby comes out alive, it doesn't matter how it got there.
YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE.
NOW.
YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
Whilst the American and Australian maternity are relatively similar, the glaring lack of midwives in the American system is where the cracks in the foundation begin to show. The overwhelming use of 'pit' or pitocin in New York hospitals where an astounding 90% of births are induced is the trigger for the cascade of interventions to which American women are subject in contemporary maternity wards.
Thus, it is easy to see how the production of oxytocin, the naturally occurring hormone in women's bodies that triggers birth and is also described as a 'love' hormone to help with bonding when the baby is born, is stifled in this environment. The use of 'pit' or syntocinin (in Australia) is a synthetic form of oxytocin. However, when women are induced with this synthetic form of oxytocin, contractions are much stronger. When contractions are stronger, there is more pain and it is no wonder that the obstetric residents in certain NY hospitals were shoving epidurals in womens' spines as soon as the pain started to increase. However, epidurals slow labour right down. Ironic, eh? Women are induced to speed labour up in order to keep more beds open and the turn-over high in American hospitals. Yet, induction = pain = epidural. This slows labour down and puts baby at a higher risk for complications. The naturally occuring oxytocin? Replaced with adrenalin, the 'fight-or-flight' hormone which is produced when women are afraid or feel unsafe. No natural endorphins, no oxytocin. Just fear, shame and 'failure'. And you know what happens next? Caesarean. NY state hospitals have some of the highest caesar rates in America, hovering at 46%. Birth centres are closing faster every day due to the daily battles against insurance companies, rising costs and the inability to compete with hospitals. Homebirths? Only 1% of all births in America.
OTBOBB portrays modern birth as a battle being waged on women's bodies. There are no 'choices' when birth is left in the hands of 'experts' and midwives are nowhere to be found. Australian women are lucky in the respect that 'normal' birth is largely left up to midwives. However, the intervention rate is still extremely high in Australia and there is a growing lack of trained midwives available to all of the women that need them. Hospitals are increasingly reluctant to hire midwives because it is a competition for their obstetric business. Moreover, private midwifery care is rarely covered by insurance but this is most likely changing.
I had chills watching this movie. There were times when I felt so angry watching women in hospital being moved around like cattle, being told they had to be induced without any information provided to them as to the risks of the procedures being performed on their bodies. Informed consent is pretty much non-existent in the American system. America has one of the worst infant and maternal mortality rates in the world despite being one of the richest countries. Why? Birth has been taken out of the hands of women and their bodies are used to line the pockets of insurance companies, hospitals and obstetricians who don't care about the process but only about the product. As long as a baby comes out alive, it doesn't matter how it got there.
YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE.
NOW.
YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
At Your Cervix: a documentary about pelvic exams
That's right, pelvic exams. We've all had them. I think every woman can attest to the discomfort, pain and relative humiliation of cold steel and stirrups that comprise a trip to the gynecologist. A new documentary is revealing the experience of pelvic exams as disempowering for women and how the medical system needs to change:
"At Your Cervix breaks the silence around the unethical methods used by medical and nursing schools to teach students how to perform pelvic exams; the most egregious being on unconsenting, anaesthetized women. At the same time, the film highlights the Gynecological Teaching Associate (GTA) Program in New York City. Fuelled by the spirit of women’s health activism, the GTA program began over 30 years ago and it has been shown to be the most effective way to teach exams and is also the most ethical and empowering to women"
You can watch the trailer for the doco here: http://www.atyourcervixmovie.com/
This looks really exciting and the filmmakers are in need of donations for editing and costs of production. Donate in the name of your favourite feminist friend for Christmas!
Sneak preview: Ricki Lake's 'The Business of Being Born'
I am so disappointed I will miss the opportuntiy to see this film because I'm off to the US next week. If you are in Melbourne and are interested in home birth, book your place now!
Presented by Maternity Coalition Victoria
in association with the La Trobe University School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Mother and Child Health Research Centre.
A documentary film by Ricki Lake, directed by Abby Epstein
Followed by panel/audience discussion on
The Relevance of the film to ‘future directions’ for Victorian maternity care
in association with the La Trobe University School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Mother and Child Health Research Centre.
A documentary film by Ricki Lake, directed by Abby Epstein
Followed by panel/audience discussion on
The Relevance of the film to ‘future directions’ for Victorian maternity care
Thursday 6th December 2007
7pm for a 7:30 sharp start
Screening is approx 1 ½ hours, followed by the discussion panel
La Trobe University, Bundoora
Western Lecture Theatre (WLT) 1.
Parking available in Car park 2,
number 86 tram from the City
Cost: $10 single, $15 family. Payable at the door
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL:
RSVP BOBB.melbourne@maternitycoalition.org.au
Light refreshments provided on entry.
Babes in arms welcome.
Sources: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au/
7pm for a 7:30 sharp start
Screening is approx 1 ½ hours, followed by the discussion panel
La Trobe University, Bundoora
Western Lecture Theatre (WLT) 1.
Parking available in Car park 2,
number 86 tram from the City
Cost: $10 single, $15 family. Payable at the door
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL:
RSVP BOBB.melbourne@maternitycoalition.org.au
Light refreshments provided on entry.
Babes in arms welcome.
Sources: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au/
ricki lake homebirth doco
Remember Ricki Lake? Gosh, how many afternoons of my primary school years were spent in front of the boob tube watching The Ricki Lake Show? Well, according to the Huffington Post, Ricki is premiering her documentary, On The Business of Being Born, at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film is inspired by her own very different birth experiences and even shows Lake birthing her son Owen in the tub. Here is a snippet of the interview:
Why did you want to produce this film?
I wanted to make this movie after my two very different birth experiences with my children. I felt like I had an opportunity to explore and question birthing practices in this country and perhaps be an advocate for mothers' rights and better maternity care
How did your personal birth experiences influence you?
After the birth of my sons, particularly my home birth with my second son, I thought I wanted to become a midwife. Then I looked at all the years of schooling and training that I would have to do and felt that the time could be better spent doing a documentary on the subject of birth.
How intimate does the film get?
I am naked at 195 pounds giving birth in my own bathtub. It can't get any more intimate than that!
Read the rest of the interview here:
Go Ricki! Go Ricki!
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