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On Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m. in the After Hours section of the Cone Center, the Feminist Union screened Ricki Lake’s documentary, “The Business of Being Born,” to around 100 spectators.
Complementary sandwiches, fruit cups and mini cupcakes filled the stomachs of attendees before the lights were dimmed and the film began.
For about 87 minutes, the sound of women moaning and babies crying filled the room. Albeit the mass majority of attendees were students seeking extra credit points for class, they were entertained by the dramatic delivery scenes and by disturbing statistics. The nude mothers-to-be hid nothing from the camera during the final hours of their pregnancy. Such scenes were shocking yet effectively informative.
After having her first child in a hospital, talk show host Ricki Lake felt that she had been cheated out of the natural birth she had always wanted. Inspired by her own experiences, she hired director/producer Abby Epstein (director of “World VDAY”) to produce this riveting film on the American process of having a baby.
It began by introducing the misconceptions of midwifery in the United States and comparing it with Europe and Japan. Many Americans have the mental image of an old, uneducated, hippy woman who thinks doctors are evil. In other countries, the majority of baby deliveries are preformed by midwives, or at least with one present. The documentary also stressed how studies have shown that other countries have fewer death rates among their mothers and babies than America.
The documentary follows several pregnant women as they explore their options. Three midwives, two doctors, and a number of various other individuals in the medical profession were interviewed. The theme of the movie was that women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, long before Pitocin (a labor-inducing drug) and cesarean sections. Birth is right of passage for women across the world and they need to quit listening to society tell them they do not know how to do it.
Halfway through the film, you learn that Epstein is pregnant. Coincidence, maybe, but to the viewers – surprise, Epstein has a cesarean section because her baby is in breech and could be in danger. Though this little detail could have been omitted from the movie to avoid contradicting their bias, it plays an effective role in persuading the audience.
Lake and Epstein are not trying to guilt the viewer into siding with home deliveries, they encourage the mother-to-be to weigh all her options and understand the snowball effect of medications involved in a hospital delivery. However, by using footage from Epstein’s complications, they also stress to the audience that, sometimes, interventions are necessary.
At times the film was awkward with its nude pregnant women and erotic moaning. To feminists, this film was about giving women back their power, but, to the majority of other women, it was about the beauty of having a natural birth. For more information on this film please visit http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/.
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