The Business of Being Born

On Friday night, I went to see a viewing of The Business of Being Born at NOVA's Loudon campus. The documentary was put together by Ricki Lake after she had 2 very different birth experiences - a hospital delivery and a home birth. Having a traumatic delivery myself, I wanted to see what this film was all about...so I got preggo Melissa and headed to the film.




The film describes the most recent trends in giving birth. America has the highest newborn mortality rate in developed countries and spends 3x more money on mother/baby care. So, what are we doing wrong? According to the film, there is too much hospital beaucracy and intervention. Women are brought up to understand that we can't labor on our own and need the drugs, hospitals and in some cases, surgeries. During most births, the body is not allowed to follow its natural way of doing things. Instead, we are admitted to the hospital, given an IV within minutes and "tied" to a bed with fetal monitors that restrict movement. If you aren't progressing fast enough, you are sure to be given Pitocin.

As for c-sections, I was shocked to see the statistics. In 1990, the c-section rate was in the mid-teens, then it rose by about 10% in 1995 and now they are estimating it around 40-45%. The midwives at the lecture told us that some area hospitals are actually in the 50%s. I also learned that the most common time for a c-section delivery is 4pm (so they can get home before dinner) and 10pm (so they aren't up all night). OB/GYNs are trained surgeons and are good at what they do, but how do we know whether it is in the mother and baby's best interest?

The point of the film was that all the modern invention is taking away a woman's empowerment from childbirth. We are made to think we can't do it. It made me think a lot about my experience. I labored most of the day and all night, making it to 8cm by 8am. I got the epidural around 9-9:30 and was taken to surgery at 10:45. Did the 1 hour of epidural really "help" me? If I made it that long, why didn't anyone ask if I wanted to try to make it another centimeter? Obviously, I could have spoken up...but hindsight is 20/20 and you aren't exactly thinking straight when you are in labor.

I really like the idea of midwives now. They aren't the stereotypical woman in braids and hippie clothes. Most of them are trained nurses or have apprenticed for years. They really play the part of your advocate during birth and will be by your side the whole time. I think I'm pretty set on having one for the next baby, although I will still have a hospital birth. Either way, the movie wasn't made to solely promote midwives or home birth. It served its purpose in educating the audience to the "business" of births and the loss of the full birth experience. It was very moving...I highly recommend it!