The Business Of Being Born….

Birth is supposed to be a miracle, a natural part of life, a rite of passage, the best thing a mother could experience, a holy gift. Well it used to be, but that was before it was made into a billion dollar business.

In this documentary “The Business of Being Born”, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein (who happens to be pregnant doing the film) on a quest to learn how American women have babies, and the business behind it. It also deals with the conflicts between Midwives and “home birth” being the best option, and doctors who take a stand with their practice.

The film talks about real life birth stories with surprising insights (historical, political and scientific) and shocking facts about the business behind the maternity care system as it digs deep into the secrets of most medical institutions, and how they use medical advantages to make birthing more than just a natural part of life.

This documentary is really very alarming as it shows that those whom women actually rely with (the doctors), specially when giving birth, are not actually telling the whole truth. The sad truth that doctors would rather perform a caesarean section (which is more risky) which can be done in minutes and pays really well, than having a normal delivery which could last for hours with a lower cost. Sad but true indeed.

In one part of the movie, Marsden Wagner M.D., a director in the World Health Organization strongly said “If you want to have a safe and normal delivery, stay away from the hospitals”.

I guess he made his point.

3 Critical:

1. The Sad Truth – as it turns out, today medical decisions are made for monetary, and legal reasons, not because they are good for the mother and for the baby.
   
2. How they do it? – Doctors actually try to convince any mother that they don’t know how to give birth, and this is where they take advantage.
3. Choosing the day – “Get pregnant, Choose a date, and Give Birth”. Things a C-section can do. Now I ask you, do you think this is a good thing? It’s far from being natural to me.