Photo credit @skyla_walton
Movies / DVDs
Here are some of my favorite movies of birth mamas in my practice love to watch, that are most readily accessible, and links to where to get them. These are movies to inspire! Most are on the topic of birth but I also included some breastfeeding and yoga ones.
Birth
• Business of Being Born
* More of Business of Being Born
• Orgasmic Birth
• Gentle Birth Choices
* Birth Story
* With Woman: A Documentary About Women, Midwives and Birth
• Birth in the Squatting Position
• Birth Into Being
• Birth Day
• Laboring Under an Illusion
• Born In Water
• Home Delivery
• Homebirth Dads
• Partners in Pregnancy: Hands on Preparation for Labor
* Guerrilla Midwife
• Call the Midwife seasons 1-5
*Midwife
* Five Countries, Six Births, Seven Babies
*MIcrobirth
• Relaxation, Rhythm, and Ritual: The 3 R’s for Childbirth
* The Timeless Way, the History of Birth
• Comfort Measures for Childbirth: The Rebozzo Way
Breastfeeding & Newborn Movies / DVDs
• Baby-Led Breastfeeding
• Dr. Jack Newman’s Visual Guide to Breastfeeding
* The Milky Way
* Breastfeeding: A Guide to Success
* Nature's Way: A Video Guide to Breastfeeding
•What Babies Want
• The Happiest Baby on the Block
* Amazing Talents of the Newborn
Prenatal Yoga
* Element Mind & Body Experience: Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga with Elana Brower
* Prenatal Yoga with Desi Bartlett
* Prenatal Yoga: Open Your Body, Connect to YourBaby with Mara Branscombe
* Prenatal Yoga for Rejuvenation and Calm with Mara Branscombe
* Prenatal Kundalini Yoga with Akal Khalsa
* The New Method - Baby & Mom Pre Natal Yoga by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
Here are descriptions of two movies we love:
Orgasmic Birth
Joyous, sensuous and revolutionary,
Orgasmic Birth brings the ultimate challenge to our cultural myths by inviting viewers to see the emotional, spiritual, and physical heights attainable through birth. By witnessing the intimate experiences of 11 women, birth is revealed as an integral part of women’s sexuality and a neglected human right. Director Debra Pascali-Bonaro shares what she calls “the best-kept secret” as we witness women in the ecstatic release of childbirth.
The 85-minute film Orgasmic Birth is subtitled in French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, and Greek with other languagetranslations in progress. To date, Orgasmic Birth has been featured on ABC-TV’s “20/20” and Great Britain’s GMTV “Breakfast Show.”
The San Francisco Examiner, Guardian Newspaper, UK Times, Irish Independent, Denmark’s Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, Toronto Star, and Brazil’s Superinteressante are among the global publications that have reported on the film in recent months; a feature for the Washington Post is in the works. Those who have never seen the film offer strong responses as to the possibility of pleasure and empowerment during birth, fostering on-going discussions and publicity worldwide.
Orgasmic Birth features a birth we attended, plus our interview. Please visit the Orgasmic Birth website for more information.
The Business of Being Born
While the United States has perhaps the most advanced health care system in the world, it also has the second-highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized nations and many have begun to question conventional wisdom regarding the way obstetricians deal with childbirth. While midwives preside over the majority of births in Europe and Japan, fewer than ten percent of American mothers employ them despite their proven record of care and success. How do American doctors make their choices regarding the way their patients give birth, and who is intended to benefit? Director Abby Epstein and producer Ricki Lake offer a probing look at childbirth in America in the documentary The Business of Being Born which explores the history of obstetric, the history and function of midwives and how many common medical practices may be doing mothers more harm than good. The Business of Being Born was screened as part of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival - Mark Deming, Rovi All Movie Guide.
