Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein
"When I decided to give birth to my second child at home under the care of a professional midwife, I faced a lot of criticism and skepticism from family and friends. Most of the people around me had a perception of childbirth as a risky medical procedure and thought that I was taking a chance by giving birth in my home, instead of at the local hospital. But after extensive research and a previous hospital birth with my first child, I knew that homebirth with a trained midwife was not only safe, but potentially safer than giving birth in a hospital.
"I knew that I was giving my child a gift by allowing him to come into the world gently, in our bathtub, with his mother in control of the birth. I knew that I was receiving the best prenatal care available and that it was costing me a few thousand dollars, instead of the thousands and thousands of dollars involved in most hospital births.
"This was not just a privilege that I could enjoy as a celebrity — this was excellent, cost-efficient healthcare that all women should have access to. My homebirth was the most empowering and transformative moment in my life. Afterward, I knew that I had a responsibility to educate other women about their options in childbirth so I produced a feature documentary called, 'The Business of Being Born,' which examines the system of maternity care in the United States.
"The Big Push for Midwives Campaign comes at a time when we realize we must increase access to U.S. maternity care, decrease maternity care costs, and improve our nation's birth outcomes. The campaign will facilitate this by achieving licensure for ALL Certified Professional Midwives in ALL states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The campaign will highlight the importance of family healthcare choices, and will defend the ability of CPMs to provide legal and safe prenatal, birth and postpartum care to families in every state.
"Our film approaches the subject from multiple angles, but one thing that director Abby Epstein and I clearly determined during our research and filming is that there must be options other than hospital birth for healthy, low-risk mothers. There are huge misperceptions about the safety of CPMs in this country. The maternity care system in our hospitals is woefully restrictive and unable to cater to the healthcare needs of families who would like to birth their children in a natural, intimate environment that gives them a role in the decision-making.
"I sincerely hope that U.S. state lawmakers do not deny parents a basic human right by restricting how their children can come into the world. I also hope that policy makers recognize midwifery as a serious, social-service profession that deserves licensing, public support and admiration."
Ricki Lake, Producer,
"The Business of Being Born"
