Private Screening of Controversial Maternity Documentary

national | consumer issues | event notice Monday December 03, 2007 17:15 by AIMSIreland - AIMS Ireland

The Business of Being Born - Sneak Preview in Ireland

Irish Premiere of Ricky Lake's acclaimed documentary will be shown at a private screening on January 16 and 17 2008.

This controversial documentary although focused on US maternity care is VERY relevant to Irish mothers and their experiences of childbirth in Ireland.

Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system

Irish Premiere of Ricky Lake's acclaimed documentary will be shown at a private screening on January 16 and 17 2008.

This controversial documentary although focused on US maternity care is VERY relevant to Irish mothers and their experiences of childbirth in Ireland.

Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
When my friend Ricki Lake approached me about making this film, I admitted to her that I was afraid to even witness a woman giving birth, let alone film one. I had never pronounced the word “midwifery” (I learned it rhymes with “trickery”) and I thought Ricki insane, as she planned the birth of her second child, for passing up an epidural in a hospital delivery.

But as I did the research, I discovered that the business of being born is another infuriating way medical traditions and institutions – hospitals and insurance companies – actually discourage choice and even infringe on parents’ intimate rites, ultimately obstructing the powerful natural connection between mother and newborn child.

As I began to shoot the film, I saw that nowhere does the tension between technology and nature play out more dramatically than birth. The film became an unexpectedly personal journey when I hesitantly turned the camera on my own pregnancy and became my own subject. Initially making choices based on faith and intuition, I had to contend firsthand with all the issues and politics I had been exploring from a comfortable distance, until my choices were put to the ultimate test. The birth of my child and this film will remain forever intertwined, and both continue to surprise and thrill me every day.

View the preview here –
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/trailer.htm

Ricky - 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!

What do you hope people take away from the film?
A lot! I hope this film educates people and empowers them to really know their choices in childbirth. We do not want to make any woman feel bad about the outcome of her birth, or the choices she made (or will make).

Did you videotape personal birth experiences at the time?
As previously referenced, yes I did. For the record, I never filmed my birth with the goal of showing it to anyone, let alone the general public. I simply wanted it documented for me.

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Screening Details

Jan 16 – City North Hotel 8pm. – http://www.CityNorthhotel.com (on the M1 – 15 mins from Dublin Airport)

Screening followed by panel discussion

Jan 17 – Galway

Location TBD

Tickets €20 payable to AIMS Ireland (34 Ballygarth Manor, Julianstown Co Meath – please mark your preference of Galway or Dublin screening

All proceeds will go to AIMS Ireland (Association for Improvements in Maternity Care) http://www.AIMSIreland.com