Whose actually seen Business of Being Born?

[flower01]

It's not showing in my area so all I can find is people talking about it who haven't seen it. Would love to hear what it's actually like? Is it worth buying?

[mommy2naomi]

I saw it with dh two months ago and I thought it was amazing. It definitely solidified my wanting of a homebirth and dh thanked me for dragging him to the movie. I'm planning on buying it when it comes out next month.

[tarajean56]

DH and I just saw it Saturday night. It is really worth seeing, and we plan on buying it. DH really surprised me, he was like, "we need to buy that and let all our friends borrow it before they have babies." DH has been supportive of our planned hbac, but this turned him into a true homebirth advocate!

[annethcz]

I saw it last week. For people who have researched homebirth and have a good feel for the topic, it doesn't really introduce any new information. In fact, it present some facts in a somewhat misleading manner (facts regarding midwifery care in other countries, and neglecting to mention that most midwives in other countries practice the same active labor management techniques that were advocated against in the movie).

It WAS a good movie, and I really enjoyed it. It reminded me in some ways of the movie Born in the USA. If you can easily acquire The Business of Being Born you'd probably enjoy it

[mamatotwogirls]

I'm seeing it on Friday! I can't wait!

[JennP]

I haven't seen this yet but it is coming out on DVD in February and I read somewhere that you will be able to get it from Netflix. I can't wait.

Jenn

[Treeof3]

I believe it will be available on NetFlix starting in Feb so if you or someone you know has a subscription, you could view it that way before buying it.

We saw it and while it clearly supported homebirth, I felt that the overall message was "There is a choice here that most women don't know about". Our showing was at a local college and there were lots of nursing students there who were like 19 years old (I assume they were required to view it) who were SHOCKED by the information given and also viewing live births lol!! One said she didn't know if she would ever have kids now hee hee, but she also said that if she did she would seriously consider her options. Which, imo, is what Rikki Lake has been saying in all her interviews. No, hb isn't for everyone, but everyone should have the opportunity to make an informed decision if they are so inclined... obviously not everyone cares to be educated on the matter, but lots of people really dont' know about the risks involved in hospital birthing because they never thought to investigate it.

Anyways - I would definitely rent it off Netflix if you can swing it. It was really good. I want to view it again because I enjoyed it so much. I also want my sister to be able to see it before she decides to get pregnant.

[kerikadi]

I guess I'm the only person that was disappointed in the movie.
After all the hype I thought I would love it and I might have if the director was left out of the movie entirely. Her birth fed all the fears people have about homebirth/hospital birth and I felt negated so much of what had been shown in the movie.

It's not a bad movie. It's a good movie with a bad ending and a bad 'character' if you will.

How much does it cost to buy it? Any chance you might be able to get it through Netflix or some other DVD rental place? I might spend $20 on it but certainly not more than that.

[KLPeanut]

I saw it twice and I wish they were a little clearer about why the director needed a hospital birth - I believe that she went into labor early (36 weeks), the baby was breech and after the baby was born they figured out the baby wasn't growing (IUGR). So she needed a hospital birth but she still got support from her midwife.

I think the movie will (hopefully) let women know what choices are out there allowing them to make the one that makes the most sense for them.

[KLPeanut]

I saw it twice and I wish they were a little clearer about why the director needed a hospital birth - I believe that she went into labor early (36 weeks), the baby was breech and after the baby was born they figured out the baby wasn't growing (IUGR). So she needed a hospital birth but she still got support from her midwife.

I think the movie will (hopefully) let women know what choices are out there allowing them to make the one that makes the most sense for them.

[KLPeanut]

I saw it twice and I wish they were a little clearer about why the director needed a hospital birth - I believe that she went into labor early (36 weeks), the baby was breech and after the baby was born they figured out the baby wasn't growing (IUGR). So she needed a hospital birth but she still got support from her midwife.

It will be available on Netflix on February 26th you can go to the website (BOBB) and order it now

The DVD will go on sale in April. Again you can go on the website and preorder it.

I think the movie will (hopefully) let women know what choices are out there allowing them to make the one that makes the most sense for them.

[KLPeanut]

You can go to the website BOBB and preorder it on NetFlix (it will be out February 26th. You can also preorder the DVD which will be out in April

[DoulaJulian]

I hosted a benefit screening back in November, and got a great response from midwives, doula's. momma's etc...the local OB's were pretty PO'd and none of the hospital staff showed up, but instead passive-aggressively bad mouthed how irresponsible i was. So, i guess i didn't like how polarizing it was...i wish it had focused more on how hospitals could make their practices more baby & momma friendly...

For me, having the knowledge base that i have, it was hard to watch and not see how some of the concepts were not dug into deeply enough, and how other ones were beat to death--causing some to feel attacked and get defensive rather then focusing on how all maternity care should be optimally safe AND empowering, no matter what the setting is. I guess when i think about it, i wish that it had addressed what the solutions are instead of just pointing out the problem, but this film is most effective for people who have ZERO idea about HB, or misconstrued ideas about it. It really isn't going to point out anything new for those of us who are already HB supporters. i certainly do not regret seeing it, and i did enjoy sharing it with other people in my community b/c it helped me to hone in on what i really need to be emphasizing in my work as a doula and childbirth educator.

[WoodlandFairytale]

I saw it and I was a little disappointed, too. It's definitely not what I had been hoping for - which was something to show my mom who is against HB due to perceived safety concerns.

There were parts that were very moving, and parts where I found myself nodding, agreeing with what was being said. It has beautiful moments that may very well serve to help more women realize that they, too, can have a peaceful birth at home. So, there's that.

The disappointments to me were:

As PP's mentioned, there is no clear explanation for Abby's hospital transfer and subsequent c-section, and the movie ends on that note. It makes it seem like they're building up this message only to bring it down in the end with something that gives ammunition to anti-homebirthers ('see! that could happen to you!'). I wish they would have at least said something like, "properly trained midwives are able to recognize signs that a hospital transfer is necessary and get you there quickly".

Also, they never address the major questions brought up by the female OB they interviewed which were along the lines of, 'what happens in the case of hemorrhage, distocia, nuchal cord, etc'. The OB said she felt homebirth would be crazy because, how could they handle those things at home? And then throughout the rest of the movie, unless I somehow missed it, that question wasn't answered or even mentioned again.

[heamae]

I just saw it Sunday and LOVED it. I plan to buy it b/c DH didnt get to go with me and I really want him to see it. Hopefully it will help him be more comfortable with the the home birth I have already planned against his protests.

[Alison Cole]

I think that the transfer from home to hospital shown in the film is a reasonable thing to be included. Rather than explicitly saying that MWs can recognize situations where moms need to be in hospital rather than at home, this scenario shows just that happening. It also illustrates something that I really believe in: when a birth needs to be in medical setting (in this case, b/c of the undiagnosed IUGR issue), there are red flags that pop up to clue in the birth team that the transfer needs to happen (in the context of the movie, the fact that the baby was breech). The fact is, transfers happen, and I like that this movie doesn't shy away from presenting that fact, along with the fact that so many lovely homebirths can, will and do also happen, usually without a hitch.

Yeah, the movie isn't the be all, end all, but it's worth watching and I'm glad it's out there in the world.

My $0.02.

[nashvillemidwife]

I thought it was great that a transport was included. It demonstrates our ability to make good decisions and modeled a very professional interaction between a responsible midwife and the hospital.

However, I really wish they had shown it earlier, rather than being the note it ended on.

[nashvillemidwife]

I was also disappointed in the part where they flashed the long list of all the obstetric drugs that might be given in the hospital. Several of those were the same drug under different brand names which artificially inflated the list. Others were emergency drugs, not used routinely but you're going to be pretty darn glad that they're there if you need them.

[LemonPie]

I saw it a few weekends ago. I liked it, but I too thought that it sort of ended on a sour note. And rather abruptly. It just didn't feel "finished" to me at the end.

I'd like to see it again though. The DVD had apparently been passed around for a lot of screenings and was scratched, so it kept jamming--they had to baby it along 4 or 5 times and I'm sure there were a few chunks we missed.

Jen

[NJ*Doula]

I saw it a few weeks ago. It was really good, though I didn't like how they ended it.