Ricki Lake’s movie “The Business of Being Born” in a word is unrealistic. I have watched the movie, listened to interviews and read the many articles discussing this film; while what she has to say is intriguing-she is way off base. I have no need to criticize or make her wrong; I do on the other hand want to point out some of the misinformation that can influence expectant parents.
- Ricki Lake, an actress and lay person, decided to become an “expert” in labor and delivery after the birth of her first son. The birth was typical for a first delivery: LONG. With a lengthy labor and the bag of waters broken for a long time, often necessitates the need for hospital technology to get involved. She may have hoped for a less invasive birth experience (lot’s of us do.) The reality is that after a certain amount of time, the mom, the uterus and the baby all become stressed, and it becomes appropriate and necessary for high-tech intervention. Ricki chooses to be mad at the hospital and the healthcare professionals rather than look at the facts.
- So, when Ricki is expecting her second son, she decides to utilize her newfound “expertise” regarding all matters birth and finds a midwife to deliver her baby at home. (To their credit, the film director actually shows some of the midwife’s own labor, where we see under no uncertain terms how absolutely hair raising the pain of labor can be.) What is never highlighted is the well known fact that second babies are almost guaranteed to arrive in the world in half the time that it took the first baby to be born: ”the way has been paved” so to speak. I credit Ricki for her determination to deliver at home to prove her point, and while it is no picnic to be sure, she ultimately accomplishes her goal…in much, much less time that the first baby. Question: if Ricki had tried to do this birth at home with the first baby, would it have happened? I doubt it.
- I also ask WHERE was her partner in any of this? First birth or second? We NEVER see him. My point in asking is that I feel strongly that partners have a significant place in labor, an opportunity to contribute in a way that is likely to positively affect not only the birth experience, but the rest of their lives…
These are just some of my initial thoughts…stay tuned for another entry when I discuss premature babies and how that was depicted in the film.
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