Please Help Raise Funds for More Business of Being Born Films!

The Business of Being Born is a birth documentary film that I love. It helped open my eyes to home birth as a safe, viable option, and I think every woman should watch this film whether or not she's given birth yet.

The great news is that more films are being made! The producers need help with the funding, and YOU can help!


From producers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein:

"Making our 2008 documentary, “The Business of Being Born,” was a huge labor of love for us (no pun intended); we shared intimate footage of our own births, funded the entire project ourselves, and fell way short of making our money back.  But like any new mom, we’ve forgotten the pain and we’re ready to do it all over again.  Now we’re giving birth to quadruplets.  “More Business of Being Born” is our new series of four educational films that deepens the conversation about childbirth options, supporting every woman’s right to empowerment and accurate information during the birth process.   We’ve also completed a 28-minute Classroom Edition of “The Business of Being Born” with a comprehensive study guide to reach younger women in University settings.


"This is where we need your help.  We’ve made these films with a microscopic budget, once again funded out of our own pockets.  But we’ve come as far as we can on our own.  


"We just launched a campaign on Kickstarter where you can purchase advance copies of “More Business of Being Born” to help us reach our goal of raising $100,000. This money will be used to both finish the films and fund their marketing and publicity, including hiring a publicist, an online marketing company, and funding campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, and various other marketing outlets. The ultimate goal is to make the information found in our films, as well as on our website, available to as many pregnant and soon-to-be-pregnant women as possible!


"Aside from the pride of being part of a revolution in the birthing paradigm, donors will receive incentive packages that include copies of the films, merchandise signed by we, the filmmakers (Abby and Ricki), and some very special packages for the most generous givers. 


"The deal with Kickstarter is that if we don’t reach our $100K goal, we don’t get any of the money – and if we can’t fund the marketing for these films, then our ability to spread the word about empowered birth will be severely hampered. Let’s not let that happen!

Click here for more information and to donate to this wonderful cause!

"Cracking the Couvade": Involving Fathers in Pregnancy and Birth

I found a good article on mothering.com that discusses the level of involvement fathers have had in pregnancy and childbirth throughout history. I found it to be very informative and interesting, and it raises some questions about our current traditions.

Click here for the complete article: Cracking the Couvade

Here's a small snippet of the article:

"In the 1800s, anthropologists started to document a strange phenomenon seen in other cultures across the world. They described fathers setting aside their weapons and sharp tools, wearing loose clothing, and doing nothing but lying in bed during the last stages of their partner’s pregnancy.

"This was far removed from men in our western European culture at the time, who sought to be distant and authoritarian with little emotional response to life or death. In the Victorian age, anthropologists, who were almost exclusively male, were embarrassed and even offended by the tribal birth rituals they encountered, and quick to attach their own meanings and interpretations, often describing men who participated in birth or childrearing as weak or savage.

"Nowadays, fathering has a very different meaning from mothering, which denotes an ongoing process of nurturing. In the book Manhood, Steve Biddulph suggests that for some, fathering might be reduced to “two minutes (in the back of a van)!” Fathers are often excluded from the build up to a birth and are later seen as the mother’s helper, rather than an equal parent. Despite gradual changes in paternity leave, society usually expects fathers to return to work as soon as possible following a birth, and prizes men who do this as, responsible."

Please take a few minutes to read this article. I'm really glad I did.

Birth Matters Virginia Educational Video Contest Winners

Back in February I blogged about an Educational Childbirth Video Contest conducted by Birth Matters Virginia.

I'm happy to announce that the video contest is over and the winners have been announced!

Click here to view the contest results

There are links to all the winning videos, as well as the other finalists. Please take some time to watch these wonderful films.

Informative Birth Story of an Emergency Cesarean

I discovered a blog called Doula Momma, on which the author posted her birth story. It's a very interesting story, with complications I hadn't ever considered before. I love to learn new things about childbirth, and this birth story was very informative to me. This woman had a baby who was presenting face first and unable to descend in the birth canal because his position wouldn't allow it. Please take a few minutes to read her story. While I personally prefer natural unmedicated birth, it's important to remember that we have medical interventions for very good reasons. I try to present all sides of birth because I feel it's important to know the possibilities and options so that you can make informed choices in your own birth.

Click here to read the birth story

Amazing VBAC Success Story

This amazing woman has posted her VBAC birth story on her blog. Please take the time to read through it. It's a bit long, but definitely worth reading.

VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) is becoming less and less available for women than it was in the past. In the 1980's VBAC's were encouraged and doctors did what they could to help women achieve them. Today, with cesarean sections becoming increasingly common and convenient (for the doctors and hospitals, not for the mothers) women are finding that they have to advocate for themselves if they really want to birth vaginally after a c-section.

This woman knew what she wanted. She did her research and prepared herself as well as she could for a successful VBAC. She knew what she needed to do, and she knew her legal rights. In her amazing birth story she describes in detail how she and her husband had to fight for what they wanted, and they were wonderfully successful. She birthed her second baby vaginally, after 38 hours of labor, and the mother and baby are both doing exceptionally well.

Make sure you read all the way to the end. I really like the feelings she expresses in the last few paragraphs.