Birth.

Writing about movies I've watched has never been one of my strong suits. Usually information that comes into my brain by way of the tube tends to literally go in one ear and out the other, but what I watched last night is worth mentioning... The Business of Being Born.

More or less, the documentary explores the question of whether birth is a natural process of life or a potential medical catastrophe, and whether the way we approach the matter in the United States is the best way to be approaching the matter. The film explored alternatives to traditional hospital births such as home births and birth centers.

For some statistical facts I learned... The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates of the developed world. Cesarean section is the most commonly performed surgery in the US, in 2004 the 29.1% of all live births were c-sections. In the US, only 8% of births are attended by a midwives. In countries like Japan, Singapore, Finland, Sweden and Norway where the infant mortality rate is the lowest, midwives attend 70% of births.

Despite the whole not being sure of whether I want to reproduce at any point in the near future or ever feelings, the natural birthing process is one of those things I've latched on to as a passion. It really all started back in my church days... One of the rising trends among some of the folks I was around was home birth. I never really got the chance to ask why of any of the women I knew who had gone down that path, but there was something about it that struck me as somewhat sacred, and I liked the idea. When a number of my online forum friends were starting down the baby path, following along as a supportive friend, I came across a lot of info related to birth... and the more information I seemed to attain about hospital births, the more unsettled I was becoming. When I found out what an epidural actually was and what it did, I couldn't shake how sick to my stomach it made me feel. (I know there's lots of women who have had them, and are totally fine with them... but for me... the thought of having an epidural seems far far worse than birthing a baby without one). And the more information that I kept finding that hospital births often seemed like they were on a pressured time table.... The more I was feeling that if my time ever came, there was no way I could do that unless there actually legitimately was a medical emergency.

Luckily for me, the state of New Hampshire passed a bill in January requiring health insurance companies to cover home birth reimbursement costs (rough estimate is around $3000 to $4000 out of pocket). Historically, health insurance hasn't covered reimbursement for home birth midwives. In the grand scheme of things, yes $3000 to $4000 isn't much out of pocket when you compare against the out of pocket cost of a hospital birth... around $12,000 and $15,000.... but when you have health insurance and you're stuck choosing between a $4000 home birth and a significantly lower health insurance co-pay? What are most people going to choose just from a purely money stand point... Nevermind the fact that in 11 states in the United States, practicing midwifery is illegal. I feel very glad I live in such a progressive state when it comes to midwifery.

There was one scene in the film that really stood out to me about the naturalism of birth... There was a woman in labor, having a water birth and she had a little boy who was maybe two years old or so and he came up to her on the side of the birthing tub, quite concerned about what was going on because mommy was obviously in pain, and asked, "Mommy?" and then moments later, the baby was born and she picked it up and held it in her arms and the two year old, wide-eyed solemnly declared, "Baby." The whole thing was just so amazing to watch, and it so natural and absent of the fear that seems to be so commonly associated with childbirth in our culture.

At any rate, I think it's a worthwhile film to watch... Even if you aren't planning a baby in the near future.