Last night I watched an amazing movie. I feel that this movie is SO important for women to watch, that I decided to write an unsolicited review of it.

The Business of Being Born is a documentary, produced by talk show host Ricki Lake.  After her first child was born, she felt very dissatisfied with her birthing experience, as if she had no control over how things had gone. It sparked her to begin learning more about childbirth options, attending birthing conferences, and talking to a lot of people about it. She decided to film a documentary, following a Nurse Midwife around New York City, and interviewing many different women, doctors, and midwives.

I wish that I had seen this movie before I had my first child.  I wish that every friend I have had seen it before they had their first children!  In this movie we learn that the US has a shockingly high rate of cesarean births, compared with other similarly developed nations, and that our rate of maternal & infant death is MUCH higher than other developed nations. 

We are the only nation in the world that depends almost entirely on OB/GYNs and hospitals for childbirth, whereas other nations utilize midwives and only use OB/GYNs if there are complications.

This movie is for any woman who is planning to have children, considering having children, or is already pregnant. I would recommend this for young adult women also, whether they are single or married. 

One caution:  This movie is from a strictly secular viewpoint. There is a bit of language, and nudity.  There are several births that are shown, and many of the mothers are unclothed.  This movie would not be appropriate for young teens or anyone too immature for the subject matter. The births are portrayed very well.  They are live, not re-enactments, including Ricki Lake’s own second child’s birth, and you get to see the different ways the women were able to take charge of their own birth experiences. 

You also get to see that plans don’t always work out the way they hope, but they still got to make those choices for themselves. WATCH THE TRAILER HERE. 

And once you do that, you will probably want to watch the movie.  If you are a Netflix subscriber, you can watch it through Netflix streaming, online.  I am not being paid for this review, either by the movie company or Netflix. I was not asked to post anything at all about it. I just feel that every woman should know what her options are, and what the doctors won’t tell you.