I was privileged to attend the Appleton screening of The Business of Being Born last month, hosted by Jill Coulter, LM of BirthWise Health & Birth Center, with my husband. The film does a really good job of portraying the current atmosphere of birth in America and comparing our outcomes to the rest of the modern world. The graphics used to illustrate the dozens of developed countries who have better mortality statistics than the United States is very effective. It is shocking to discover that our world-renowned health care system is next to last in producing healthy moms and babies!

The Business of Being Born tells the history of birth and obstetrics in America in a humorous and captivating way. I could even hear my husband chuckle, especially at the Monty Python hospital sketch and the cartoonish portrayals of a typical experience of hospital delivery. However, in the evolution of the film, the product becomes personal as the director finds herself in the very midst of making her own decisions regarding her first pregnancy and birth, and choosing to film her journey even through its unexpected end.

The Business of Being Born makes a thought-provoking case for the resurgence of midwifery care in America. To date, a very small percentage of pregnant women will choose the care of a midwife, and even smaller yet will these women choose an out-of-hospital birth experience. The midwives model of care is a key element which differentiates the most successful maternity cultures in the developed world from those which, like ours, have fallen short of expected goals. Through striking and sensitive birth footage, The Business of Being Born depicts the very real differences through the different potential avenues of giving birth, from home to birth center to hospital, and even cesarean surgery.

The Business of Being Born is available now through Netflix, and is being released in a limited number of theaters nation wide. Every pregnant mother in America deserves to see this film!