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Nearly 15 years after their seminal documentary “The Business of Being Born” examined the birth experience in Western medicine, filmmakers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein are reuniting to take on women’s reproductive health.

“The Business of Birth Control,” which premiered on Thursday at Doc NYC, is described as a fearless look at the movement to reexamine “the pill,” as younger generations of women start weighing drastic side effects and more nebulous consequences of taking “the same drugs our grandmothers did,” according to Lake.

Currently seeking distribution, the project arrives in a timely and contentious discussion about access to abortions across the country, and public figures like Britney Spears’ fight for body autonomy (the pop star’s assertion she had a forced Iud was a bombshell revelation from her ongoing conservatorship battle).

“This work has been so rewarding for me, to educate and empower women with information. I’m a lay person,...

In the wake of executive producer Mike Richards’ resignation as the new host of Jeopardy! after facing allegations of employment discrimination, the Jeopardy! powers that be decided to go with someone as interim host who seemed immune to cancellation: erstwhile Nineties fashion plate, longtime network TV sweetheart, and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik.

On the surface, Bialik did indeed seem like a safe choice. Having built up cultural goodwill from her time on shows like Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, Bialik has carved out a career as a professional personality and lifestyle influencer of sorts,...

On Wednesday’s “The Masked Singer,” the Raven was unmasked and it was exactly who you thought it was: Ricki Lake. And she thought it was kind of obvious too.

“I kind of knew [people were guessing me]. The clues seemed like a dead giveaway,” Lake said Wednesday during the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association press tour following a screening of the episode. “I was, like, ‘They are going to know it’s me.'”

Among the Raven clues over the last few weeks: A pregnancy test — Lake made the 2008 birthing documentary “The Business of Being Born” — and that she had hosted a talk show. On Wednesday’s episode, her physical clue was a Daytime Emmy Award (definition of a #humblebrag); Lake won Outstanding Talk Show Host for “The Ricki Lake Show” in 2013.

“The hardest part of this job was trying to keep my mouth shut [when people were guessing it’s me] on Instagram,” Lake continued. “Everyone is like,...

Of the four celebrities to perform on “The Masked Singer” on February 6, three — the Bee, Monster and Peacock — perform their routines like professional entertainers. To our ears, the fourth contestant, the Raven, sounds like someone who has come to singing later in life. Don’t be led astray by that wild speculation by Nicole Scherzinger that it is Raven Symone or that total guess by Jenny McCarthy that its Sherri Shepherd.

We’ve been studying the clues that the Raven gave in the pre-recorded videos as well as her performances and her sly answer to the judges questions. Piecing the puzzle together, we are certain in our reasoning as to who is hidden beneath this elaborate costume and mask. Spoilers ahead.

We are all but certain that the Raven is actress and talk show host Ricki Lake. Her third clues video showed us a positive pregnancy test. Lake produced and...

“The Masked Singer” brings back the Bee, Monster, Peacock and Raven for episode 6 on Wednesday, February 6. In advance of their return, the show has released a teaser video with clues as to the real identities of each of these costumed crooners. Take a look at the video above, and then if you dare, read our spoilers as to the true identities of these four contestants.

The Bee is the Grammy-winning singer Gladys Knight. This singing legend is coming off her stellar rendition of the national anthem at the Super Bowl. In the clues video, we see kitchenware. Gladys is almost as famed for her cooking as she is for her singing. This week, the Bee generates lots of buzz with her cover of the Miley Cyrus hit “Wrecking Ball.”

The Monster is the rapper T-Pain. This one-time chart-topper took a long break from the business after being criticized for his overuse of Auto Tune.

Ricki Lake lit up with joy when she saw how viewers reacted to the SXSW premiere of her latest project, the documentary Weed the People.

“The response has been amazing,” she tells People in this week’s issue. “It’s a film that means so much to me.”

The doc was coproduced by her ex-husband Christian Evans before he killed himself at age 45 in 2017 following a long battle with bipolar disorder. Evans, a jewelry designer, had access to medical marijuana during his struggle, and wanted to use Weed the People to help advocate for its legalization.

“There’s a stigma to medical marijuana,...

Eli Young Band just gained its newest honorary member!

On Wednesday, Nov. 30, the country-rock group’s bass guitarist Jon Jones and his wife Sarah welcomed their second child into the world, their rep confirms to People exclusively. Lila Pascale Jones was born in Fort Worth, Texas at 1:30 a.m., weighing 7 lbs. and measuring 19½ inches.

“We are overwhelmed with happiness and are already so in love with little Lila. Our family feels complete as we start this new chapter of our lives,” Jones tells People. “The Eli Young Band family just got a little bigger and a little better.”

Lila...

Read More: Bond/360 Acquires Birthing Documentary 'The Mama Sherpas' Ricki Lake, frequent star of John Waters' films -- most notably the original "Hairspray" -- and successful daytime talk show host, has gone through a major career shift since leaving her spot on television, refocusing her attention on producing documentaries about women's reproductive issues, including childbirth and birth control. Starting with her best friend Abby Epstein's "The Business of Being Born," Lake has used her name to bring attention to topics that mean something to her.  After having her own experiences with alternative birthing options, Lake began her producing journey. Her latest project, executive producing Brigid Maher's "The Mama Sherpas," sees Lake working on a film that focuses on midwives and their involvement with births, both in private facilities and in hospital settings. Soon, Lake will being working on "Sweetening the Pill," a documentary...

Before Stacy Keibler and husband Jared Pobre welcomed daughter Ava Grace last August, they didn't really know what to expect. To help prepare for labor and delivery, the first-time parents-to-be watched Ricki Lake's 2008 documentary, The Business of Being Born, and the film "changed everything for my husband and me," Stacy wrote in a StacyKeibler.com blog post Monday. "When I was pregnant, I did concurrent care with both my Ob-gyn and midwife because I wanted to compare the journey," Stacy wrote. "I concluded that there was no doubt that I wanted to have a home birth with no medication." Daughter Ava was born "late" according to the couple's Ob-gyn, but as Stacy...

Former syndicated talk show host and Emmy award winner Ricki Lake has been a pioneering indie filmmaker focusing on women’s issues for nearly a decade. Her 2008 documentary “The Business of Being Born,” about the benefits of home-birthing over hospitalization, is a must-see in modern women’s medicine, as well as an early hit at the dawn of streaming. Lake and filmmaker Abby Epstein spoke with TheWrap about their next film project, based on the book “Sweeting the Pill: or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control,” and it’s premise, the increasing toxicity of modern birth control, as well as the advances Silicon.

Read More: Just in Time for Mother's Day: Cavu Pictures to Release 'Breastmilk' Into Theaters Bond/360 has acquired new documentary "The Mama Sherpas," executive produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein ("The Business of Being Born"). Directed by Brigid Maher ("Veiled Voices"), the documentary takes a look inside the collaborative practices of midwives and doctors, and the growing evolution of birth perceptions across the country. The film provides a window into the intimate lives of those midwives working within the hospital system. The documentary focuses on a big shift in the birthing industry: an increased number of Caesarean sections. Recently, the idea of "collaborative care" for a pregnant woman, during which doctors and midwives work together, has become more popular. Research shows that these care models produce better results for both mothers and their children. “We were thrilled to discover Brigid Maher's...

A review of last night's "Girls" season finale coming up just as soon as it's pretty legal to self-doula... Late in "Home Birth," Hannah stands in the Nicu peering down at her partial namesake, Jessa-Hannah Bluebell Poem Schlesinger Sackler, and tries to impart some wisdom about being alive. "Life, man," she says, "I can't guarantee perfection, but I can guarantee intrigue." That's not only an accurate description of our time on this earth, but of this season of "Girls," which offered plenty of intrigue — along with strong comedy and poignant character moments — while feeling decidedly imperfect for various pacing issues I wrote about last week. Servicing the whole ensemble and making sure character arcs play out properly over the course of a season have never been strengths of this series, but the issues felt more acute throughout this year, and throughout this finale. I liked an awful lot of both,...

For any new parent, the pros and cons of feeding your baby with breastmilk versus formula opens up no shortage of opinion from experts, doctors, other mothers and more. But one documentary is tackling the topic, and not just exploring the choice to breastfeed, but the various other areas the decision often touches upon. Directed and produced by Dana Ben-Ari and executive produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein—the creative team behind the highly celebrated doc "The Business Of Being Born"—"Breastmilk" follows five New York City mothers from late pregnancy until their babies are a year old, exploring the truth, sexuality, politics, and emotions surrounding modern breastfeeding. And in this extended segment of clips from the film, we visit each of the mothers profiled in the movie in a nice cross-section of the subjects explored from feeding in public to how breastfeeding has possible ramifications on the physical...

Taking care of some domestic duties, Evan Rachel Wood hit up a grocery store in Los Angeles on Tuesday (September 3).

The “Wrestler” actress made her first outing since giving birth to her son back on July 29th, and she looked healthy as she milled around Whole Foods sporting a short hairdo and baggy grey t-shirt.

Last month, Evan took to her Twitter page to give props to Ricki Lake for teaching her about birthing options in her documentary “The Business of Being Born.”

Wood tweeted, “I have to say thank you @RickiLake for your inspiring documentary ‘The business of being born.’ I never knew I had a choice when it came to labor. It taught me so much & aided my decision in having a natural home birth which my son & I are now forever grateful for.”

Lake responded, “You are so welcome. Overjoyed to hear you had a positive birth experience & a beautiful son!

They’re not the most likely buddies, but it seems Evan Rachel Wood and Ricki Lake have something very cool in common.

The “Wrestler” starlet took to her Twitter account to thank the talk show personality for inspiring her to have a natural childbirth.

Apparently, Lake’s “The Business of Being Born” documentary from 2008 shaped Wood’s decision.

Evan tweeted, "I have to say thank you @RickiLake for your inspiring documentary…I never knew I had a choice when it came to labor. It taught me so much & aided my decision in having a natural home birth which my son & I are now forever grateful for."

Ricki replied, "You are so welcome. Overjoyed to hear you had a positive birth experience & a beautiful son! :) #Bobb xo"...

Shortly after Evan Rachel Wood gave birth to her baby boy, she made sure to thank hubby Jamie Bell…and Ricki Lake! The reason? Wood tweeted Tuesday that the talk-show host's 2008 documentary, The Business of Being Born, helped her make the decision to have a natural home birth. "I have to say thank you @RickiLake for your inspiring documentary…I never knew I had a choice when it came to labor. It taught me so much & aided my decision in having a natural home birth which my son & I are now forever grateful for," she wrote on the social networking site, just one day after announcing her happy baby news. Lake, a mom of two, tweeted the actress back, writing, "You are so...

Just a few days in, Evan Rachel Wood's transition into motherhood seems like it's been smooth sailing thus far -- and the Mildred Pierce actress has a rather unexpected pal to thank for that. The first-time mom took to Twitter on Tuesday, July 30, to express her gratitude to daytime talk show host Ricki Lake for her documentary The Business of Being Born. "I have to say thank you Ricki Lake for your inspiring documentary 'the business of being born,'" the 25-year-old actress wrote. "I never knew [...]...

Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa's son Sebastian had a plan of his own when it came time for his birth. In an appearance on The Ricki Lake Show on Tuesday, Apr. 30, the 29-year-old model opened up about the Feb. 21 delivery of her first child and how her plan of a home water birth "went down the drain." After watching Lake's film about home births, The Business of Being Born, Rose was so inspired that she decided to have a home water birth as well. "Today [...]...

Wiz and baby Sebastian shared a sweet snuggle, which Amber Rose shared with the Instagram world on Feb. 28! So adorable!

Wiz Khalifa, 25, has been spending most of his time with his newborn son Sebastian Thomaz and the father-son bonding was caught on camera! Wiz’s fiance Amber Rose, 29, just posted a photo of him giving Sebastian some lovin’ with hugs and kisses!

Wiz Puts Sebastian First

Sebastian was born on Feb. 21, but Wiz can’t get enough of him. The new dad tweeted on Feb. 26 about how much he loves being a father and that Sebastian comes first over everything else in his life.

“I’m not gonna lie, i havent been on twitter, instagram, in the studio or nothin. Juss bein Sebastian’s dad is good enough for now,” Wiz tweeted on Feb. 26.

Amber Bonds With Baby Boy

Wiz isn’t the only one enjoying quality time with Sebastian though.

The pregnant model and her rapper beau has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their baby boy, and he he’s finally here! Amber and her fiancé Wiz welcomed their baby on Feb. 21 — read on to find out his name!

Amber Rose, 29 and Wiz Khalifa, 25 are first-time parents! The rapper announced the good news via his Twitter account on Feb. 21, and revealed the unique name of their baby boy!

Amber Rose Gives Birth To The Bash

The couple named their first child Sebastian Taylor Thomaz — and nicknamed him “The Bash!”

“Happy Birthday,” he tweeted on Feb. 21. “Everyone welcome this perfect young man into the world.”

Amber Rose’s Birthing Plan: A Water Birth?

The couple planned to deliver their baby in an at-home water birth, after watching the documentary The Business of Being Born, and said they planned to have a midwife and doula present to help the happy couple through the delivery.

Amber and Wiz have been doing their baby research, and they decided they don’t want to deliver their baby at a hospital after all — they want an at-home delivery! Read on for more details.

As Amber Rose, 29, Wiz Khalifa, 25, prepare to welcome their first baby, they are planning to take a more hands-on approach with the delivery when the big day comes.

After watching the documentary The Business of Being Born, the couple decided on their unconventional delivery method.

“Thx @RickiLake 4 making ‘The Business of Being Born’ it changed my life & I’m looking forward 2 my home water birth wish me luck!” Amber tweeted on Feb. 2. Ricki Lake, who executive produced the film, welcomed her second son Owen via a water birth.

The documentary follows different pregnant women and their at-home deliveries. According to AmericanPregnancy.org, water births are when the mother goes through labor in a tub of...

We already knew that Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa's baby will be a boy with a boss name and an understanding of his dad's affinity for weed. But we did not know how the couple planned to give birth ... until now.

Rose, who has been diligently chronicling her pregnancy on Twitter, recently tweeted, "Thx @RickiLake 4 making "The Business of Being Born" it changed my life & I'm looking forward 2 my home water birth wish me luck! Hugs :-)" Rose is referring to a 2008 documentary that Lake made with director Abby Epstein, examining birthing practices in the U.S.

And in a new interview with Los Angeles radio show "Big Boy’s Neighborhood," Khalifa opens up about the big day. “We gonna have a midwife and a doula at the crib and she’s gonna be in a pool and it’s gonna be like a relaxing environment and when she...

Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose are excited to welcome their baby boy into their home—literally. The rapper and his pregnant love are planning a very hands-on, natural water birth at their house. "Thx @RickiLake 4 making 'The Business of Being Born,'" Amber tweeted Saturday. "it changed my life & I'm looking forward 2 my home water birth wish me luck! Hugs :-)" Wiz, 25, is excited to participate. "We gonna have a midwife and a doula at the crib, and she's gonna be in a pool, and it's gonna be like a relaxing environment, and when she's ready she's gonna tell me when to stick my hands down there and I'm gonna pull the baby out," he said on L.A....

Well, we know who is definitely not the next Oprah. That person is Ricki Lake, whose "The Ricki Lake Show" was canceled Monday after one season. The show first premiered last September but, according to Reuters, couldn't stand up to competition from Katie Couric, Jeff Probst and Anderson Cooper. Cooper didn't do so well either, with his show also ending after its current season.

This was Lake's second journey into daytime television. Her first talk show, "Ricki Lake," ran for 11 seasons, before she made the call to end it, in order to spend time with her family.

In a statement, Lake says, "I am so proud of the shows we completed this season." She plans to return to documentary film making with business partner Abby Epstein, saying, "I am excited to create meaningful and provocative films similar to our 2007 project, 'The Business of Being Born.'"...

Ricki Lake's return to daytime talk television is no more. Twentieth Television announced Monday that "The Ricki Lake Show," which premiered in September, will not continue into the 2013-2014 season. Declaring herself "so proud" of the series, Lake said that she will "continue to be an active and passionate voice for subjects that are close to my heart through a variety of platforms." Lake also said that she will re-focus on making documentaries with Abby Epstein, with whom she partnered on the documentary "The Business of Being Born." "I am so proud of the...

Welcome back to our blogger Kimberly Van Der Beek!

Born and raised in Washington, she married actor James Van Der Beek in August 2010 and is mother to their two children — daughter Olivia, 2, and son Joshua, 7 months.

A proponent of healthy living, Kimberly, 30, sits on the parent board of the Environmental Media Association and serves as co-chair of Baby Buggy‘s Los Angeles committee.

Husband James’s sitcom, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23, premieres its second season on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m.

You can find her on Facebook and @KimberlilyVDB on Twitter.

In her latest blog, Van...

Mark Savage/Startraks

Her babies have turned into big boys — Milo is 15 and Owen is 11 — but Ricki Lake is still reaping the benefits of giving birth.

“That high is something I will never forget. The feeling that, ‘If I can do this, I can do anything,’ has stayed with me through the years,” The Ricki Lake Show host, 44, tells Scholastic Parent & Child in their October issue.

“I’ve gotten through a really difficult divorce, I’ve taken all these steps in my career, and I did Dancing with the Stars, which was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done!

There are great documentaries about artists (like Crumb or Valentino), or documentaries that shine a light on brain-tickling cultural phenomena (like Paris Is Burning or The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters). But I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of documentaries that get shown at festivals, that win awards, that arrive in theaters near you — or video-on-demand schedules — are political or social or historical exposés. They’re about the war in Iraq, or the food we eat, or climate change, or convicted killers who may be innocent, or illegal oil drilling in South America,...

Courtesy More Business of Being Born

When celebrity mom-of-two Ricki Lake joined forces with filmmaker Abby Epstein for The Business of Being Born documentary in 2008, women were led on a journey directing them to a birthing plan that best suited them and their baby.

Now Lake and Epstein are back with the new, four-part More Business of Being Born series ,that not only continues the individualized birthing quest, but also explores today’s maternity care system, including doulas, birthing centers and the recent spike in cesareans.

Plus, you’ll hear exclusive interviews from star mamas like Gisele Bündchen, Cindy Crawford,...

Courtesy Ricki Lake

For Ricki Lake, working on the documentary The Business of Being Born was a labor of love.

“I worked on this project for three-and-a-half years. My son who is born in the movie is now 10,” she tells People.

“It’s a lot of time, a lot of effort, and just hope that the public would care about the issue.”

Released on DVD in 2008, The Business of Being Born follows Lake and director Abby Epstein, whose pregnancy is also depicted in the film, as they investigate birthing practices in the U.S., from hospital care to midwifery and home births.

Baby As Art

Pink and husband Carey Hart thought they had it all planned out when it came to welcoming their first child.

“We watched Ricki Lake‘s documentary The Business of Being Born early on. It was so enlightening and empowering,” the new mom tells People.

“We took all kinds of classes and decided to work with midwives at The Sanctuary … I was really looking forward to the whole rite of passage — giving birth perfectly present, unmedicated, in the way nature intended.”

However, that was before daughter Willow Sage made her own agenda known, arriving on June 2 via a...

Ricki Lake has a hot new boyfriend - they're living together! - and it's keeping her from working out. "I'm totally in love," says Lake, 42. "We're having so much fun. I'm happier than I've ever been." But, she says, it's so great that she hasn't been maintaining her weight. "I went on a love binge," she says. "I haven't been going to the gym as much. I'm a bit fluffier than usual." Lake, the mom of two boys, Milo, 14 and Owen, 9, has been dating her guy since last summer. "He's a normal guy," she says. "We met through my best friend.

Kevin Perkins/Pacific Coast News

It’s been a banner year for Alyson Hannigan — to say the least! Nominated for a People’s Choice Award for her work on How I Met Your Mother, the 35-year-old actress became a first-time mom as well, to 8-month-old Satyana Marie.

With so much going on it’s no wonder Alyson is looking for ways to save time, and she’s found a great one in Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs. Convenient and efficient, the tiny tabs eliminate the need to pre-wash dishes before loading into the dishwasher, buying Alyson a few extra minutes with...

Palm Springs International Film Festival

PALM SPRINGS -- Apparently Prissy from Gone With the Wind isn't the only one who don't know nothin' about birthin' babies.

From the perspective of The Business of Being Born, an eye-opening look at maternity in America, the nation's hospitals and insurance companies place a close second.

Initiated by executive producer Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein, this investigation of contemporary childbirth "management" is in many ways The Inconvenient Truth of obstetrics, not to mention a convincing endorsement of midwifery.

Being Born screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival ahead of a limited theatrical run. It will be offered by Netflix in February.

A close-up and personal film, in which several of its subjects -- including Lake -- allow the camera to capture their chosen methods of delivery in indisputably intimate detail, it is a must-see for any woman who's pregnant or planning to have kids.

At first glance, the notion of deliberately giving birth outside of a hospital (as Lake did in 2001, in her bathtub with her second child) might seem to be a risky proposition.

But then come all the disturbing questions:

-- Why does the U.S. have the second-worst newborn death rate in the developed world?

-- Why are more than 40% of the deliveries done in some New York hospitals all Caesarean sections?

-- And why, according to a study, are the peak hours for Caesarean procedures at 4 in the afternoon and 10 at night?

As the film probes the circumstances that have led to midwife-attended births in America dropping from 50% in 1938 to less than 8% today (whether in or outside hospitals), while in the five countries with the lowest infant mortality rates, midwives figure into 70% of those births, it points to those Michael Moore-approved usual suspects: namely the health care and insurance industries.

But though some doctors admit to pressing for time-efficient, $14 billion-a-year Caesarean sections as a way of avoiding negligence claims, and questionable practices are nothing new (Thalidomide, anyone?), Being Born makes its best case when documenting those natural-birth alternatives.

Casting vanity to the wind, Epstein's subjects permit Paulo Netto's unimposing camera to witness the miracle of birth in a big-business-free environment, and the effect, like the production itself, is as poignant as it is potent.

THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN

Red Envelope Entertainment and International Film Circuit

Credits:

Director: Abby Epstein

Executive producer: Ricki Lake

Producers: Abby Epstein, Amy Slotnick, Paulo Netto

Director of photography: Paulo Netto

Editor: Madeleine Gavin

Running time -- 87 minutes

No MPAA rating...

NEW YORK -- Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment and New Line Home Entertainment have acquired North American rights to producer Ricki Lake's childbirth documentary The Business of Being Born.

Red Envelope is planning a theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco at the end of October, hiring International Film Circuit to handle theatrical marketing, promotion and distribution. The film will debut on Netflix before the end of the year, followed by a 2008 New Line home video release.

After experiencing the 36-hour delivery of her first child in March 1997, Lake enlisted director Abby Epstein to chronicle the lives of several expecting New York City mothers. The resulting feature examines the history and financial side of childbirth through their experiences and interviews with obstetricians and other experts.

"When Abby and I set out to make this film, our goal was to help inform as many women as possible about the full range of choices they have," said Lake.