Movie Review: The Business of Being Born

I saw The Business of Being Born this afternoon. It's a movie by Ricki Lake (yes, that Ricki Lake) about the differences between giving birth in a hospital and doing it at home with a midwife. It favored the home birthing route.

Ok, I guess this isn't really a movie review because I am not going to explain much about the movie, just my reactions to it.

It certainly opened my eyes to the process of delivering a baby in the US and how it has changed over the years. It also challenged some of my ideas about what a midwife is. It certainly gave me a lot to think about over the next few months. Jonathan thinks this means I am seriously considering giving birth in our bathtub. I assured him this is not the case (it's far too small, we'll have to just bring in one of those kiddie pools and do it in the living room. . .).

The other raw reaction I had to the film was tearing up each time I heard a woman in labor. I wish I could say my tears were because I was appreciating the miracle of childbirth and each mother-to-be's wails of pain were like music to my ears. Sadly, this is not the case. Their screams just terrified me. I am not at all prepared for the pain.