2011 - Talk Birth

maternity care system. More Business of Being Born, available November 8th, offers a practical
look at birthing options as well as poignant celebrity birth stories from stars including Alanis
Morissette, Gisele Bundchen, Christy Turlington-Burns, Cindy Crawford, Molly Ringwald, Laila
Ali, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Melissa Joan Hart.
And, you can check out the trailer here too:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJTN88Zv0 M &w=480 &h=360]
Film summaries:
DVD #1
Down on The Farm: Conversations with Legendary Midwife Ina May Gaskin
Follow Executive Producer Ricki Lake and Director Abby Epstein to The Farm Community in Summertown,
Tennessee, where pioneer midwife Ina May Gaskin talks candidly about the latest birth trends
and the art of midwifery. Gaskin, who was featured in the original The Business of Being Born, sparked
Lake’s initial interest in natural birth and has continued to inspire the filmmaking duo’s advocacy efforts.
Also on the journey is pregnant actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who has enlisted a midwife to attend the
birth of her second child and joins the filmmakers in meeting The Farm’s famous midwives and touring the
picturesque birth cabins in the woods. In the poignant final sequence, Gaskin exhibits her Safe Motherhood
Quilt and calls for a deeper examination into the rising maternal mortality rate in the US. (Running Time:
55 min)
DVD #2
Special Deliveries: Celebrity Mothers Talk Straight on Birth
Featuring celebrity moms Laila Ali, Gisele Bundchen, Cindy Crawford, Alyson Hannigan, Melissa
Joan Hart, Kellie Martin, Alanis Morissette, Christy Turlington-Burns and Kimberly Williams-Paisley,
Special Deliveries is a collection of intimate birth stories from a diverse group of mothers. Whether they
chose to deliver at a hospital, home or birthing center, these heartfelt and humorous testimonies speak
to the lasting power of the birth experience. True inspiration for any mother-to-be, this group of women
trusted their bodies and intuitions, taking responsibility for their birth decisions even when things didn’t go
according to plan. None of these courageous women has ever spoken on the record in such compelling detail,
and, on this DVD, the filmmakers weave together their passionate narratives as a celebration of the journey
to motherhood that will leave viewers with a renewed sense of amazement about the power of women.
(Running Time: 74 min)
DVD # 3
Explore Your Options: Doulas, Birth Centers & C-Sections
The most comprehensive and educational DVD in the series, Explore Your Options offers birth-planning
guidance around key topics such as the role of doulas (labor support specialists,) the advantages of birth
centers and the alarming escalation of cesarean sections in the United States and Brazil. Epstein and
Lake talk to doulas about why their profession is currently booming and uncover why having a good doula
can make-or-break the entire birth experience. They look at the ever-growing rates of inductions and
c-sections, which have reached 50 % in many US hospitals and more than 99 % in some private hospitals in
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