I watched The Business of Being Born on Netflix this week (it's on instant watch and I've had a lot of down time). I had heard of the documentary before, but had kind of blown it off, thinking it was done from an extremist version, ie, anti-hospitals, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was done.
While the movie definitely promoted midwifery and was against certain trends in hospital births (like the whole epidural - pitocin - c-section link) I thought it was a pretty balanced look at the failures of hospitals (such as the US's high infant mortality rate) and the safe options that midwifery provides for babies and their mothers.
And let me just state for the record that I don't lean strongly one way or the other. :-)
My favorite was the ending and I'm so glad that they ended it this way. The director Abby, found out that she was pregnant after beginning this project. They originally started with an OB but end up changing to a midwife halfway through the pregnancy. But then the labor comes early, things aren't right, and the midwife makes the call for her to go to the hospital and be delivered by her original OB (they had a back up plan). Once there she ends up getting of all things, a c-section. This story summed up well the whole point of the documentary. Midwifery is a valid option, and can be the right choice for many people. But hospitals are there for a reason, and sometimes you really do need them.
Due Diligence: Being a birthing movie, there are "nekkid wom'n" in this movie! (But not in the trailer below...)
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