Definitely one sided with everything. They make doctors sound like they don't care about their patients. It was interesting, but very biased. Did not sway me into natural birth. I respect those that do, but it is not for me. I will take full advantage of medical advances with epidurals etc.
Yes it has an agenda so yes it is pro-natural birth. It is NOT anti mother nor does it blame mothers for having something other than a med-free birth (um..the producer has a c-section at the end!). Nor does it suggest c-section mothers don't love their babies (it does talk about down sides to c-section birth). What is does blame is a medical system that does not always operate in the best interest of mothers.
So I ended up watching it this afternoon. I thought the information was great (most of it I was already aware of). I think it was biased in the sense that my opinion of the medical system is that it is broken BUT that I'd rather see the system be fixed than removing deliveries from a hospital setting and going into a home setting. I'd rather see the comforts of a midwife and your own home and the "hands off" unless medically necessary set up happen in hospitals. Probably a pipe dream but oh well....I'd say I was glad I watched it.
I rally enjoyed this movie. We are taught that doctors are to be obeyed and listened to and I think we often forget that they have their own agenda. The bottom line is that you are in charge of your own medical decisions. Period. No one should feel forced by a doctor to make medical decisions they aren't comfortable with. There are a lot of women out there who put 10x more thought into their crib bedding than their labor and delivery. And that's fine if that's what they're comfortable with. But I liked that it made me really think about what I was comfortable with, gave me new knowledge and facts I would certainly not receive on a brochure at my doctors office, and made me more aware of my options.
If you go into it realizing that it's a one-sided and skewed production, then I think it's great to watch. I just feel bad for women that watch it and end up being completely heartbroken when their plans for an unmedicated birth have to change.
Anecdotally, I have seen the exact cycle of induction, pitocin, epidural, more pitocin, fetal distress, c-section that they describe for multiple friends (more than half actually). I also think the home birth lady needing a hospital transfer and c/s adequately portrays their stance that intervention is sometimes necessary, just not interventions before there is a problem since the interventions sometimes cause their own problems.
Anecdotally, I have seen the exact cycle of induction, pitocin, epidural, more pitocin, fetal distress, c-section that they describe for multiple friends (more than half actually).
I've seen this with my friends, as well. I'm one of the last of my friends to have a baby, so I've heard a lot of horror stories. It's one of the main reasons I'm going to *try* to go as natural as possible.
Anecdotally, my friends who went natural had a really rough time (and two ended in a c-section) and my friends who had epidurals had pretty awesome, smooth labors from then onward.
Which is to say, natural or not, it could go either way.
Yes it has an agenda so yes it is pro-natural birth. It is NOT anti mother nor does it blame mothers for having something other than a med-free birth (um..the producer has a c-section at the end!). Nor does it suggest c-section mothers don't love their babies (it does talk about down sides to c-section birth). What is does blame is a medical system that does not always operate in the best interest of mothers.
Isn't there some part about how monkeys or whatever that reject their babies if they have a c/s, and Michel Odent going on about how women who don't have natural births miss out on all the "love hormones"? It absolutely implies that if you have a c/s you won't bond with your baby as well.
They also have some guy comparing an elective c/s to buying a Prada bag--like women just make this choice because they see Victoria Beckham doing it and they want to be trendy too. Then Michel Odent makes some comment about how some women will have elective c/s in the future but women with intuitive knowledge won't--so women who have natural births are more wise and knowledgeable than women who make a different choice? Ricki Lake talks about how all these women in our society just want the end product of a healthy baby in their arms (as if there is something wrong with that?) and she feels like they're all missing out on this amazing life experience. It's like she can't possibly understand that not everyone wants the same things as her and so they must be losing out on something that she needs to enlighten them to. I find this all pretty condescending to mothers and the choices they make. So I think one could definitely interpret that differently than you do and think that yes, it is anti-woman and it is blaming mothers for their choices.
I mean, I agree 100% that there are problems with our model of maternity care in this country and there are some good points in the film. My first delivery was a sucky experience and it didn't need to be.
But while there are a lot of issues with how women are treated and the kind of rhetoric used in hospitals, I think you could say the same about the natural birth side of things too. There is just as much non-evidenced based recommendations and women-blaming going on there as there is in hospitals and OB offices. In BOBB, there's a lot of talk about women who have natural births being empowered and having agency and doing it their way, but they aren't the only ones--I know many women who actively made different choices for their birth and they were every bit as empowered and doing it their way.
Also I don't like the way the BOBB implies that our high maternal mortality rate relevant to other industrialized nations is because we have too many c/s and not enough midwives. That's a huge oversimplification.
tl;dr the movie makes some good points but the criticism of it does as well.
Big sister {September 2008} Sweet boy {April 2011} Fuzzy Bundle {ETA July 2014}
mostly i went in knowing it was biased and also knowing I have no choice- I am high risk and have to be in a hospital but I dont want pain meds and I'd like to avoid as many interventions as possible despite having a likely induction. the movie did fully convince me I could use a doula to help achieve these goals given my situation.
I think you have to remember that all information is biased. It doesn't matter what the source is, people interpret facts and then report that information. This is why it's always important to find at least 3 different sources for information and at least one source that is the opposite. That way you've exposed yourself to various types of information. Then it's up to you to disseminate the pertinent information and make your own opinion.
I felt it was very biased...YES the medical field is too medical, but by the same token, I feel that a lot of alternative doctors are too anti-Western medicine. I went to a midwife and considered going natural - had plans to - but then I became diabetic during pregnancy and it was safer to induce me (due to placenta possibly breaking down, NOT big baby), so there went my plan!
I do not feel I would or could love my baby any more if I had done it natural! I was stuck having a long induced labor and crappy Pitocin, but on the flip side, I am THANKFUL for that epidural. I felt that labor was something akin to torture...maybe it was the Pitocin or maybe labor is that bad no matter what. Natural is not something I would do unless forced.
I liked the midwives better than the OB practice I started with, but to be honest, I am disappointed by both! I feel that very little attention was paid to my diet, only to chide me on my bad "numbers," and I also feel that my postpartum care has been pretty pathetic. I am still in pain 6 weeks postpartum and my midwife practice just cancelled my 6 week appointment so now I have to wait another week to find out why I'm still in so much pain.
Anyway, that documentary is very one-sided and shows a lot about the medical system that was terrible years ago, not right now. I think instead of natural versus medical we should look for a way to integrate everything to give the best care possible.
JuneMrs
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I do not feel I would or could love my baby any more if I had done it natural! I was stuck having a long induced labor and crappy Pitocin, but on the flip side, I am THANKFUL for that epidural. I felt that labor was something akin to torture...maybe it was the Pitocin or maybe labor is that bad no matter what. Natural is not something I would do unless forced.
I liked the midwives better than the OB practice I started with, but to be honest, I am disappointed by both! I feel that very little attention was paid to my diet, only to chide me on my bad "numbers," and I also feel that my postpartum care has been pretty pathetic. I am still in pain 6 weeks postpartum and my midwife practice just cancelled my 6 week appointment so now I have to wait another week to find out why I'm still in so much pain.
Anyway, that documentary is very one-sided and shows a lot about the medical system that was terrible years ago, not right now. I think instead of natural versus medical we should look for a way to integrate everything to give the best care possible.