The Face of Birth

I waited with great expectations for this doco to come out. As a liker of the Facebook page in the lead up to release, I was really impressed by what I saw in the teasers and trailers. I wasn't disappointed.

What Face of Birth does is paint a VERY clear picture about the birth choices available to women in Australia and how this contrasts between different areas (Rural, regional, aboriginal and cities) and different parts of the world. With the assistance of health care professionals both locally and internationally (Sheila Kitzinger, Michael Odent and Ina May Gaskin just to name a few...), Face of Birth shows why birth choices are vitally important to women, children and the families they create.

Part of the documentary chronicles the ongoing battles women have in access to midwifery led care, homebirth and birth in locations close to home. It shows how the lack of these services lead to generations who have no concept of what birth really is like and how it works. The documentary also addresses the plight of Aboriginal women in Australia who have had their rights to birth "on land" removed. Whilist it isn't addressed specifically as a knock on from this, it does leave us wondering why this is? For those who understand the Mabo land rights rulings, for Aboriginals to have a claim to the land they must be able to show an un-broken connection to it. The rights of Aboriginal women being removed in this way may have potential long term effects on proving this un-broken connection for future generations and is a scary prospect.

The part that made me cry though was every time I woman shared a birth experience. When a woman showed that no matter how she birthed, she was present, she was empowered and she made decisions that were best for her and her baby in that situation, you could SEE how this would effect her for the rest of her life.

One of the BEST quotes that I think the un-birthy people can take from this documentary that best sums up why ALL people can support women in having birth choices and making empowered decisions, comes from Hannah Dahlen. A midwifery lecturer from a Sydney based uni... She addresses the 2 ideologies that people have regarding decisions in childbirth. The child-centered idea where a woman makes "Self-Sacrificing" decisions to ensure a healthy baby in exclusion to all other side-effects vs. the Mother-centered idea where a mother realizes that if she is healthy and whole she will be able to better provide for her baby, resulting in a healthy baby. THIS is why women need to be able to have choices and make decisions. Because when they do, they choose what is right for them and they can live with it.

Beautiful doco that sums up everything I feel and love about pregnancy and birth and all my frustrations at the lack of continuity of care, support and birth choices that women in Australia have.

The Face of Birth was a fantastic documentary that examines the current situation surrounding maternity services in Australia, in the face of legislative changes that were enacted in 2010. This film challenges every health care worker, consumer and politician to assess the dire path maternity services are taking, and the consequences that increasing medicalised birth practices are having on women, their babies, and their families. Kate Gorman beautifully illustrates the vast difference in care between Australia, the UK and other first world countries, and highlights the need for evidence based practice and choice in maternity care to be available to all women in all areas of Australia. Particularly touching was how the film addressed Indigenous birth practices, both traditional practices and the unacceptable edict for women in rural and remote Australia today. I found this a joy to watch, with the broad range of experts and consumers of maternity services across the whole spectrum of models of care contributing to a balanced and accurate view of maternity services in Australia. This is a must-see for any pregnant woman, doctor, midwife, friend or relative of anyone who is pregnant or considering becoming pregnant.

A fantastic insight into the culture of birth in Australia. Framed in the context of women fighting for their right to choose where and how they give birth, this movie is incredibly educational. Not only does it aim to increase awareness of the struggles some women go through to be "allowed" to make decisions over their own bodies, but it also educates on why it is important for women to be informed and assertive in their pregnancy and birth experience. It features interviews with mothers and families with wide range of birth experiences, and it also has interviews with a wide range of health professionals (medical/anthropological/midwifery/psychology) both for and against homebirth. Thank you Kate and Gavin and all the families involved for sharing your stories.

I watched this film for the first time over a year ago and was blown away by the powerful stories it presented. Many of the women in the film faced challenges in their pregnancies and births, but all of them were satisfied with the outcomes because they felt at every moment that they were the main decision-makers in the process.

The experts in the film come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but those that struck me most were the hospitals that were implementing policies very unconventional for modern maternity hospitals (midwifery-led units, 30% rates of home birth with hospital midwives and low rates of intervention) with excellent results. I think we need to study these examples of the best of all modes of care and as health care consumers, decide what works best for us.

Vaginal birth after caesarean, births in rural areas, births on aboriginal country far from the nearest hospital with culturally appropriate care, births in hospitals, elective caesarean sections, planned home births and planned home births that ended up transferring to hospital in a very positive way are all shown in this film, mixed in with expert opinions and best practice models.

This film is a must-see for pregnant women, especially those who are pregnant for the first time or those who are confused about all the options being offered to them or lack of options that are available. Change in maternity services will happen when we, the consumers, start demanding that real choices and the adoption of best care practices without the pressure of healthcare industry lobbies.