The Business of Being Born Message Board

Hello,

I just wanted to say thank you to Ricki and all who participated in this film. I waited 2 months for it on Netflix and it was worth every moment!

Here’s how my viewing went:

8:00pm: Turned the film on and thought, “I don’t care what they say, I’m getting an epidural.”

8:20pm: “Oh my God I’m getting a midwife and doing it naturally!”

I swear to you, I’ve been telling everyone in my life since the age of 18 that I WANT AN EPIDURAL! I want it early! I want it for the entire last trimester! I’ve had DREAMS about having one and I’ve never even been pregnant!

I can tell you that seeing the horror stories about what hospitals do, the lack of close relations with the OB/GYN, especially during delivery, and the intimacy of at-home/mid-wife births, I am seriously rethinking my plans. I was one of those girls that just wanted the baby and didn’t care if I
remembered the birth at all. I never understood the significance of it until your film.

Trust me, I’m scared to death of the delivery, and I will probably beg for drugs throughout. Nevertheless, I love that this is such an amazing feat that no one can ever take away from you once you’ve experienced it. I also love (the feminist/lesbian part of me) that no man can ever experience this and that women exclusively can claim this as their own. I can’t wait to bond with my partner as we give birth, and for that fulfilling moment when I finally have the baby I worked so hard for (from the conception to the birth, in my case!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Leah W.