I was contacted by the production company two years ago, as the director was very interested in featuring an unassisted birth in the film. I put the word out in the UC (unassisted childbirth) community and a woman in Maine, Vanessa, responded. Naturally she was somewhat reluctant to have the birth filmed (especially by strangers) but the producers assured us they would be very respectful and unintrusive (which Vanessa says they were). The director and two camera people arrived a few days before she gave birth (she's the one in the film's trailer who's standing nude by the lake), and successfully got the birth on film.
In Oct., Vanessa, Mikael and her family (she's had another child since then) were flown to France for the premeir. Vanessa liked the film, and since she's French Canadian, she understood it! The film includes ten births from around the world, but Vanessa's is the only US birth. If you click on the American flag on the web site (on the spinning globe) you can read more about her. Unfortunately it's in French, but my friend Rixa Freeze translated it (see below).
Vanessa was told that it would probably be at least 8 months to a year before the film was shown in the US. The director sold the world-wide rights at the Cannes Film Festival, so I think the film will get a lot of exposure! Plus, it's being distributed by Disney (oddly enough), so they have the money to promote it. I do wonder, however, if it will be shown in US theaters, as there's a lot of nudity in the film.
I've heard that there are two lovely midwife-assisted births in the ocean in Mexico with dolphins, and a disturbing assembly-line birth in a Vietnamese hospital (I believe). I hope to be getting more details soon (Vanessa just returned from Europe, where she traveled around after the premier). Unfortunately the woman who originally contacted me is no longer with the company, and no one at the production company has responded to my letter asking for details about a US release. Vanessa has tried, as well.
I've heard that it has been well-received in France, but the unassisted birth has come under attack. In any case, it looks like a beautiful film!
Laura
From the web site:
Vanessa, 32, and Mikael, 36, live in a collective with eight other people, a group of activists, artists, and organic farmers who met each other in the intersection of alternative ways of life. Their house in Maine reflects their values—it’s a retreat for city dwellers, surrounded by woods and fields, on the edge of a lake.
Vanessa fully embraces her pregnancy. It is her first baby, who is very much wanted and hoped for. Not only for her and Mikael as a couple, but also for each of their house mates.
Vanessa chose to give birth unassisted by the medical profession, deciding instead to take the responsibility of her son’s birth into her own hands. She is convinced that her body will know how to give birth and that if a problem arises during the birth, that she will be able to resolve it herself. She wants no outside interventions during the birth: “My reasoning is that if a problem presents itself, I will sense it. Women have always had that intuition. Giving birth unassisted is an affirmation of feminist and anarchist beliefs: nobody is better qualified to birth my baby than myself.”
Still, her decision worries some of the members of the group. Some would like a midwife there just in case...A legitimate concern, because it is also the first birth within the group, the first infant of the collective. A lot of their hesitations surfaced—primarily the worry that nobody in the group would know how to identify an emergency situation.
But Vanessa responds that it would be impossible to give birth the way she feels is best with a midwife waiting in the closet. “I would always be aware of her presence.”
Vanessa is doing her own prenatal care. She does yoga and has regular massages. She drinks homemade herbal teas made from red raspberry leaves and nettles for her and her baby’s health. She is serene as she awaits the birth of her baby.
She hasn’t decided yet where in the house she will give birth. Outside is probably out of the question because it will almost certainly be too cold. She will have a birth pool in the room. But she wants to leave everything open, to have complete liberty during the entire process to decide how and where the birth will unfold. The longer her pregnancy continues, the more Vanessa feels that her decision is right.
“I want to be the only one deciding how I feel and how the birth should unfold.” Above all, she wants to ensure that she does nothing to hinder the process before it happens. She notes any desires or wishes that arise. Still, in order to have complete spontaneity during labor, everything needs to be well set up in advance.
Her final wish is to have a “lotus birth”—not cutting the umbilical cord and keeping the placenta and baby together until the cord falls off by itself a few days after the birth. “I really want this to be a rite of passage for me and my baby, and in order to for this journey to take place, you have to take risks and be willing to embrace the possibilities.” The knowledge of the risk she is taking is part of her journey, but she places her faith in nature, trusting that her baby will arrive safely into the world. She awaits as the full moon draws nearer.
Unassisted Birth
In the United States giving birth at home without medical assistance (called “unassisted birth” or “undisturbed birth”) is a growing trend. No doctor, no midwife, no nurse. The woman gives birth alone, with her family, or with close friends, whatever suits her best. Some women give birth outside, others in water, in the living room, or in a birthing room prepared especially for the event.
A recurring theme in the unassisted birth movement is the right to have the freedom of choice and autonomy in making health care decisions.
The unassisted birth movement is a militant protest against the over-medicalization of pregnancy and birth. Its supporters--including committed environmentalists, intellectuals, artists, and feminists—wish to overturn the established order and to bring childbirth back to its original meaning: bringing life into the world in a truly natural manner. Giving birth, according to women who choose unassisted birth, is a creative act that should unfold exclusively according to the mother’s desires, because they believe that what is good for the mother is also good for the baby.
The unassisted birth movement proclaims that birth is a natural physiological process that does not need medical intervention. According to the movement, we are all in charge of our bodies, and the birthing mother is the best qualified person for bringing her baby into the world as long as she knows her body well. She knows what is best for her and for her baby. No one else has the right or the ability to tell her what is best for her. Medical procedures and technology are unwelcome intrusions, and women’s perceived dependence on medical experts leads them to accept treatment that in any other circumstance would be unacceptable. Women also reclaim their right to birth their babies into their own hands.
Unassisted birth is also about facilitating mother-baby bonding. No one, except perhaps the baby’s father, should intervene in or interrupt the mother-baby pair after the birth. In France, the movement has no official representation. There are some reports of unassisted births, but no formal organizations exist that promote the practice. 1-2% of women in France give birth at home, but generally with a midwife in attendance—a practice quite common, for example, in the Netherlands.
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I wonder if it is availbale on DVD yet....anyone know?
