WOMEN AND INFANT’S HEALTH MEDIA LIBRARY
The following are films and radio spots on childbirth and breastfeeding we like. Click links below to play film or radio clip, you will be re-directed to You Tube or other websites to watch or listen to them.
Infant/Child Health Films | Childbirth Films | Pregnancy Films
Infant/Child Health Films
Actress Salma Hayek Breastfeeds Sick Baby on UNICEF Trip - One child around the world dies every three minutes from a completely preventable illness – tetanus. A recent ABC news report followed actress and producer Salma Hayek to Africa on a UNICEF mission to raise awareness for tetanus in partnership with Pampers. Salma stood bedside with a young mother as her seven-day-old daughter, Fatima, took her last breath. Had the woman be given a vaccine that costs just seven cents while pregnant, the newborn’s life would have been spared. At another clinic, Salma was so moved by a sick one-week-old born on the same date as her own daughter, Valentina, 1, that she picked up the hungry child and nursed him.
Childbirth Films and Radio Spots
“Injoy Videos Mother’s Advocate” – Films for Better Birth on labor positions, consequences of medical interventions, continuous labor support in labor, history of childbirth from ancient times to the present, etc. View Videos
“Orgasmic Birth” (2008) – The best kept secret, a film about the true nature of childbirth, by Debra Pascali-Bonaro. Orgasmic Birth Trailer (on You Tube) . This film is passionate and sensual as well as provocative and awe-inspiring. Includes a beautiful original musical score and interviews with the foremost authorities on natural childbirth including Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD, Elizabeth Davis, CPM, Marsden Wagner, MD/Dr.Ph., Ina May Gaskin, CPM, Dr. Sarah Buckley, MD, Penny Simkin, and more. Learn more about Orgasmic Birth at: orgasmicbirth.com
“Birth by The Numbers” – http://orgasmicbirth.com/birth-by-the-numbers, with Eugene DeClercq, Ph.D.- Perinatal Epidemiologist, Boston University School of Public Health -http://orgasmicbirth.com. If you’re interested in the epedimiology of perinatal health, this is a must see! We recommend it for a public health students and professionals interested in maternal and infant health.
“Business of Being Born” – Actress Rikki Lake and Abby Epstein’s film about the business of childbirth in America. This film will change your view on where and how to have your baby! Click here to watch The Trailer on You Tube Or, if you prefer, click here to watch the “Business Of Being Born” full movie online.(Requires subscription).
“Pregnant in America” - Examines the betrayal of humanity’s greatest gift–birth–by the greed of U.S. corporations. Hospitals, insurance companies and other members of the healthcare industry have all pushed aside the best care of our infants and mothers to play the power game of raking in huge profits. Click here to Watch the trailer on You Tube
“The Madeline Brand Show: Homebirth and Midwives (Radio Show)” – This radio clip from March 7, 2012 on KPCC 89.3 with Eve Troeh, interviewing Rikki Lake about her cult film, The Business of Being Born, and Cordelia Hanna-Cheruiyot a childbirth educator and birth assistant about the reasons behind the increased numbers of women choosing to give birth at home and maternity care trends towards Mother and Baby Friendly Maternity Care in the U.S. Click here to downlaod the the radio show: 20120307_mbrand_4HomeBirths.
“Born In The USA” (1999) – This is a well-crafted film by seasoned documentary filmmakers, Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider. We love this film! Though this film appeared on PBS’ Independent Lens, it did not receive the media attention received by Rikki Lake’s film, but we think it’s a treasure! Intelligently and strategically comparing and contrasting the medical and midwifery models of childbirth and the political forces in the U.S., Born In the USA examines those forces which drive our technology-intensive, profit-oriented maternity care system; one that produces poorer outcomes for mothers and infants in comparison to other western industrialized nations which utilize a midwifery model of maternity care. The film is brilliantly filmed and edited, and the landscape of birth in America is told through three main characters: an obstetrician in a large teaching hospital in Philadelphia, a Licensed Midwife in Washington State with a homebirth practice, and a Nurse-Midwife in the South Bronx who runs a freestanding birth center. Contrasting conventional hospital birth to midwifery care in out-of-hospital settings, this film reveals how births can be safely conducted at home, and how we can achieve better outcomes for inner city, low-income populations who are at highest risk for maternal and infant mortality through skilled midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth centers. Watch trailer at: Patchwork Films Website
“The best film on birth in America.”
——Marsden Wagner, Former Director, Maternal and Child Health, W.H.O.
Films on Maternal Mortality and Safe Motherhood
International Women’s Health Program Media Library
International Women’s Health Program Website
A collection of trailers and full films on maternal and newborn health including women with obstetric fistula in Ethiopia, Prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child in rural Zambia, Disaster relief for mothers and infants in Haiti, Maternal health services in Kenya, and more.
Every Mother Counts -”No Woman, No Cry” – A Film by Christy Turlington Burns
Every Minute a Woman Dies from Preventable Complications During Pregnancy or Birth.
It is a tragic reality that in many parts of the world becoming pregnant can be a death sentence. Even more shocking is the fact that roughly 90% of these deaths are preventable.
Christy founded her advocacy organization “Every Mother Counts” and directed this film after her near-miss complication following the birth of her first child. The personal is political.
Watch film trailer on Facebook
Films on Infant Mortality and Premature Birth
“Legacy of The Black Midwife” – Shafia Monroe, CM, CCE – International Center for Traditional Childbearing (Black Midwives and Healers Association) – Watch Video on You Tube See also:
Assata Shakur’s commentary on History of African Midwives in History
“Reducing Infant Mortality” – Despite all of our medical intervention and technology, infant mortality is a major public health concern. Native-American babies are 3 times more likely and African-American babies are 2-1/2 times more likely than Caucasian babies to be born too soon and too small, and prematurity increases the likelihood that they will die needlessly within the first year of life. Learn more about the causes and consequences of this tragedy by watching the film:
Reducing Infant Mortality from Debby Takikawa on Vimeo.
“Unnatural Causes: When The Bough Breaks” – From California Newsreel, this documentary asks the question “Is Inequality Making Us Sick?”
Each video clip below illustrates a key concept from “WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS FROM UNNATURAL CAUSES”
How Racism Impacts Pregnancy Outcomes
WEB-EXCLUSIVE VIDEO, “Unnatural Causes”
UCLA obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Michael Lu believes that for many women of color, racism over a life time, not just during the nine months of pregnancy, increases the risk of preterm delivery. To improve birth outcomes, Lu argues, we must address the conditions that impact women’s health not just when they become pregnant but from childhood, adolescence and into adulthood.
Kim Anderson’s Story
VIDEO EXCERPT, “Unnatural Causes” – Episode 2
When Atlanta lawyer Kim Anderson was pregnant with her first child, she did everything right: she ate a healthy diet, exercised, and got the best prenatal care. But her baby was born almost three months premature. This excerpt from When the Bough Breaks explores racism’s impact on pregnancy outcomes.
Unraveling the Mystery of Black-White Differences in Infant Mortality
VIDEO EXCERPT, Unnatural Causes
Neonatologists James Collins and Richard David specialize in the care of infants born too soon or too small. Their research on differences in birth outcomes between African American and white American women points to a provocative idea: the cumulative stress of racism is taking a toll on African American families even before they are born.
For answers to your pregnancy, breastfeeding or childbirth-related questions, please contact us at: support@socalbirth.com
