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Movie Review: Birth As We Know It
his evening, I had the pleasure of watching an extraordinary DVD about natural childbirth called Birth As We Know It.Released by The Sentient Circle, it is a film directed by "Conscious Birth" co-creator Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova.
As a doula and a birth junkie, I have seen a lot of movies and television shows about childbirth. Thanks to the popularity of reality t.v. and the Western world's obsession with knowing the most intimate details of celebrity life; many of us can compare our experiences to those of Brandy's on Brandy Norwood: A Special Delivery, Nature on Life's Birth Stories and Vicki and Kevin Wilson on TLC's A Baby Story. We've even seen Dr. Quinn, Laura Ingalls and Deanna Troi birth babies in our favourite television series.
What's one more birth movie?
What makes Birth As We Know It special is its frank look at natural childbirth...and how beautiful birth can be. Eleven births are shown - including a breech birth, a twin birth and an unassisted birth - and each one is glorious in its own right. Tonetti-Vladimirova talks about overcoming the birth trauma that many of us experienced when we entered the world and explains how that may impact the deliveries of our children. She introduces us to couples who birth their babies in shallow ocean lagoons, in their bathtubs, in lush gardens, and in hospitals. These are children who are born wide-eyed, often smiling, and who nurse immediately.
Birth As We Know It captures how powerful pregnant women are, and how sexual the birth event is. Those supporting the women in labour tell of being astounded by the mother's energy, her strength and her ability to connect with her most primitive self.
Lest you think that this is a DVD that bashes OB/GYNs, hospitals or cesarean sections, there are portions of the film that show natural births in hospitals, attended by loving doctors and it is made clear that there is a time and a place for medical intervention.
This film really moved me. I feel almost as if words are too paltry to describe the sheer beauty and practicality of the movie. The Sentient Circle believes that women's bodies know how to birth their babies - and it created an amazing representation of that.
Check out their website at: http://www.birthasweknowit.com
As a doula and a birth junkie, I have seen a lot of movies and television shows about childbirth. Thanks to the popularity of reality t.v. and the Western world's obsession with knowing the most intimate details of celebrity life; many of us can compare our experiences to those of Brandy's on Brandy Norwood: A Special Delivery, Nature on Life's Birth Stories and Vicki and Kevin Wilson on TLC's A Baby Story. We've even seen Dr. Quinn, Laura Ingalls and Deanna Troi birth babies in our favourite television series.
What's one more birth movie?
What makes Birth As We Know It special is its frank look at natural childbirth...and how beautiful birth can be. Eleven births are shown - including a breech birth, a twin birth and an unassisted birth - and each one is glorious in its own right. Tonetti-Vladimirova talks about overcoming the birth trauma that many of us experienced when we entered the world and explains how that may impact the deliveries of our children. She introduces us to couples who birth their babies in shallow ocean lagoons, in their bathtubs, in lush gardens, and in hospitals. These are children who are born wide-eyed, often smiling, and who nurse immediately.
Birth As We Know It captures how powerful pregnant women are, and how sexual the birth event is. Those supporting the women in labour tell of being astounded by the mother's energy, her strength and her ability to connect with her most primitive self.
Lest you think that this is a DVD that bashes OB/GYNs, hospitals or cesarean sections, there are portions of the film that show natural births in hospitals, attended by loving doctors and it is made clear that there is a time and a place for medical intervention.
This film really moved me. I feel almost as if words are too paltry to describe the sheer beauty and practicality of the movie. The Sentient Circle believes that women's bodies know how to birth their babies - and it created an amazing representation of that.
Check out their website at: http://www.birthasweknowit.com
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