Laboring Under An Illusion: TV / Real Birth

Trailer for "Laboring Under An Illusion: Mass Media Childbirth vs. The Real Thing," a documentary by childbirth anthropologist Vicki Elson. Please visit www.birth-media.com for more info, ordering, etc.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• anthropology
• birth
• childbirth
• natural childbirth
• natural birth
• pregnant
• pregnancy
• labor
• delivery
• labor and delivery
• baby
• media
• media literacy
• television
• TV
• movies
• Hollywood
• midwife
• midwifery
• obstetrician
• obstetrics
• OB
• hospital birth
• home birth
• birth center
• health class
• baby shower
• baby shower gift
• Vicki Elson
• childbirth education
• prenatal

[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.

[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.

[hellowilbur135]

@Ankesche

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

[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 :-(

[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]

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.