The Business of Being Born

Maternity care in the United States generates billions of dollars each year. Since hospitals and insurance companies make a healthy profit from each pregnant patient, labor is often quickly induced, and new mothers sent on their way, in order to make room for more. According to Abby Epstein's documentary The Business of Being Born, 70% of European and Japanese women use midwives, compared with 7% of American women (less than 1% of whom give birth at home). Yet, even as the number of hospital births has risen, so have caesarian sections and infant mortality rates. Epstein follows the pregnancy of actress/former talk show host Ricki Lake, who felt compelled to collaborate with the filmmaker after experiencing the effects of excessive medication during the birth of her first child. Wanting more control over the process the second time around, Lake turns to a midwife instead of an OB/GYN. Epstein, who herself becomes pregnant during production, speaks with other expectant mothers and fathers, midwives, and OB/GYNs here, spending most of her time with New York midwife Cara Muhlhahn, and includes footage of both Epstein and Lake giving birth. For a historical perspective, the filmmaker incorporates archival material on birthing in the U.S. since the turn of the century (for humor, she also turns to Monty Python's The Meaning of Life). For all the progress made in terms of medical procedures, Epstein suggests that there have also been substantial setbacks, such as a decline in the number of birthing centers. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes footage and postpartum interviews. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)