Laboring Under An Illusion: TV / Real Birth

[Ankesche]

And where can you find this film "Laboring Under An Illusion"? Is it a DVD? I couldn't find it at amazon... or on youtube :-(

[hellowilbur135]

@Ankesche

you can get the DVD through the website for the film. the link is at the end of the clip

[vickispix]

Ariel, I wonder if you meant to respond to the wonderful film, "Orgasmic Birth," made by my friend Deb Pascali-Bonaro. While both films contain some births that really are orgasmic, neither Deb nor I suggest that birth must be orgasmic to be satisfying. (But if I'd known it was a possibility, I might have had more kids! Ha ha) You're right that perception is the key, and both Deb and I concern ourselves with easing fear and cultivating joy.

[ArielAransas]

Have any of you who ar made uncomfortable by this actually watched the film? The pain tis that the intimacy, trust and understanding that birth is a natural event changes the way labouring mothers percieve pain and therefore how they feel it. Your birth does not need to be orgasmic, the same techniques can be employed for a calm intimate birth as well, you just must change your perception of labour.

[eringraham25]

While the film may provide a biased toward normal/natural childbirth, the images we've been given to rely on through media have certainly been biased toward the painful/scary and highly medical end of the spectrum. The truth is that our beliefs about our bodies and about birth play an enormous role in how we approach labor; and the images we have seen throughout our lifetimes can have an enormous impact on those beliefs.

[swargy14x]

I'm not very familiar w/this video..does it support natural childbirth? I was just wondering b/c my husband and I are expecting our second lil' boy and using a CNM this go around. I'm trying to put together a good collection of references in order to prepare.

[vickispix]

Yes it does, but not in a way that is preachy. It's a collection of clips, compared and contrasted, that respects the viewer's ability to make up her own mind. That said, there is wonderful and inspiring footage -- once you see a bit of the films excerpted, you might want to obtain some of those films in their entirety.

[swargy14x]

Thanks that answers my question.

[keithandjess]

i saw this wonderful film at a conference last fall, and we're planning a public screening in our community. As a doula and childbirth educator, I'm always looking for new ways to get the general public thinking about birth, without completely clubbing them over the head with propaganda. "Laboring Under an Illusion" is a lovely way to open a community conversation about birth in a way that a wide variety of people can connect with. Thanks, Vicki Elson!

[KimSycamore]

I was impressed that Vicki Elson wisely and fairly used natural birth documentaries and educational DVDS as well as sitcoms, television dramas and tabloid magazines to examine the cultural message of popular media. That was a smart decision and makes "Laboring Under and Illusion" all the more powerful too for looking at why we believe what we believe about chilbirth.

[hannahgk]

Terrific ~ a balanced, intelligent, thought-provoking presentation of birth. From the silly to the sublime, Vicki Elson captures the beautiful potential of fully-engaged, participatory family childbirth, and the skewed perspective of prime-time nonsense (carefully notice the "Baywatch" clip!) This film is timely, entertaining, well-researched, and inspiring. Thanks!

[UrbanCrunchyMama]

Thanks for making this available on YouTube. I've posted this trailer on my Facebook page. :-)

-- always the birth advocate

[BonnieB2323]

Finally someone is putting the truth about birth on film.

Real birth is wonderful, triumphant. The media has been partially responsible for making it look dangerous, painful, and definitely something you need a physician to help with and something you would want to forget. Of course this is totally WRONG. Women are uniquely designed to have their own babies! With encouragement and support of a midwife most women can do just fine. The most beautiful experience, memorable, fantastic !

[skyeway]

I want to see it, I thinkit may be biased, looking at some of the 'real thing' births that are up there. It'll be interesting to watch regardless.