A 1-hour documentary about modern hospital birth practices, written, produced and directed by Suzanne Arms with cinematographer, Christopher Carson.
Birth is a miracle, a rite of passage, a natural, mandatory and normal – although often challenging – part of human life. It is both a subtle and a sophisticated series of complex physiological and psychological processes. In many ways, how we are born, the way women experience pregnancy and how they give birth, affect their mothering and ultimately shape society at large. Beliefs about birth and birth practices influence the very nature our lives.
Today birth is organized around a pathological level of fear and mistrust. The clear but unspoken belief is that a modern woman is not capable of birthing normally and requires technological and/or surgical intervention to make birth safe or to rescue herself and her baby. A parallel belief is that the way a baby is born is of no lasting significance in that person’s life.
In the U.S. birth is also big business: when 4 million women give birth every year, interventions yield big profits. BIRTH, the groundbreaking one-hour television documentary, interlaces intimate birth stories – from ordinary men and women and from medical professionals – with surprising historical, political and scientific insights, and shocking statistics.
Should most births be treated as a natural, normal and healthy process? Or should every birth be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency? BIRTH is designed to awaken the public – men as well as women, people of all ages, whether or not they ever plan to have child – to the complex issues surrounding birth. The purpose of this unique film experience is to initiate a healthy dialogue about which is the most appropriate model for bringing babies into the world, meeting their developmental needs, empowering childbearing women, and fostering the bonds of love and empathy – the very foundation of every thriving family, nation and civilization.