Ricki Lake shares homebirth experience in new documentary

Former talk show host Ricki Lake has taken the sharing of baby pictures and videos to a whole new level. For the new documentary, The Business of Being Born, which is described as,

A candid and eye-opening documentary, in which director Abby Epstein and producer Ricki Lake explore and question the way American women have babies. Shocking facts (to men and women alike) regarding the historical and current practices of the child birthing industry interweave with stories of couples who decide to give birth on their own terms,

Ricki decided to include her personal home video of herself giving birth to her second child, Owen, 5, nude in a bathtub. Ricki says the filming of her birth wasn’t initially intended for the public, but she hopes it will serve to empower and educate women.When recently being interviewed by The Huffington Post about her reasons behind the film, Ricki said,

[I wanted to document] two very different birth experiences with my children. [Older son Milo's birth failed to progress after 36 hours and Ricki felt like she had 'been delivered' instead of giving birth.] I felt like I had an opportunity to explore and question birthing practices in this country and perhaps be an advocate for mothers’ rights and better maternity care.

After the birth of my sons, particularly my home birth with my secondson, I thought I wanted to become a midwife. Then I looked at all theyears of schooling and training that I would have to do and felt thatthe time could be better spent doing a documentary on the subject ofbirth.

When asked how explicit the film is, Ricki answered,

I am naked at 195 pounds giving birth in my own bathtub. It can’t get any more intimate than that!

Ricki also has an older son named Milo who is 9 years old. Her film will be featured at the Tribeca Flim Festival later this month.

Source: The Huffington Post

Thanks to CBB reader Tanisha.

Comments

GO RICKI!!! good luck to her.wow, what a day of wasted personalities in celebland-first helen hunt, now ricki. 2 fabulous women who rock at what they do- if ppl like these r out of the spotlight, u gotta wonder bout the quality of who’s left…

- ang on April 20th, 2007

Yeah for homebirthing! I gave birth to two of my children at home. I can’t wait to see the doc.

- Holly on April 20th, 2007

Thank Goodness for the “celebrity factor” !
I had my last two children at home… after a c/s for my eldest!
Homebirth rocks… the state of birth in North America is frightening…

- k. on April 20th, 2007

My husband and i discussed home birthing for our first child since he himself was born at home…and were all set to do it and the last minute i chickened out..to the hospital we went,thank god i did, i hemorrhaged and was in the icu and lost 3/4 of my blood. if i wasn’t at the hospital i would have died. So yes home birthing is great , but look at the risk factors, my daughter would not have had a mother. i have my room reserved at the hospital for the next one…good luck to everyone

- rebecca on April 21st, 2007

I don’t see the attraction of giving birth in the tub. A home birth is one thing, but sitting in tepid water with blood and bits of whatever floating around seems really gross to me.

I have twins, so it was advised that I not only have them in the hospital (in the O.R.), but agree to an epidural as well in case it progressed to a c-section. (It didn’t, luckily!) My birthing experience was REALLY good. Great nurses and doctors, and the hospital was impecably clean. Since it was my first time giving birth, it was nice to have all the experts around!

I don’t think I would opt for a home birth for any future pregnancies, though. I want the epidural!

- Cleo24 on April 21st, 2007

All 3 of my children were preamies, so giving birth at home wasn’t an option.

- Tarsha on April 21st, 2007

I gave birth in a birth tub with my second, at home. It was peaceful and wonderful. The water helped ease the pain a little and I think it helped me not tear more than I did. Position changes were also so very much easier than out of the tub! The water was not very dirty at all, even after the birth and the placenta was delivered.

Homebirth is a safe option for a healthy woman with a healthy pregnancy – often safer than going to a hospital if there are no complications with the pregnancy. Even if complications arise, a good midwife can recognize the need for a hospital transfer in plenty of time, and does carry supplies with her to deal with some things on the spot.

I love to see other birth options publicised by more high profile people. I hate that society’s expectation is that birth is a thing that doctors MUST help with and MUST be done in a hospital with drugs. It’s become so highly medicalized that women sometimes no longer trust their own instincts, which is not an ideal start to motherhood!

- Jean on April 21st, 2007

This is great – thanks for posting it.

Homebirth midwives are trained medical professionals and they know how to manage normal birth. They know when a labor is becoming complicated, and they will transfer you to the hospital in that event. Studies show that homebirths have consistently better outcomes than hospital births, for both mothers and babies. Many women are having their babies at home and none of them are dying. Homebirth is a wonderful option for low-risk women who live near a hospital and have access to midwifery care.

Making uninformed and fear-based statements about homebirth doesn’t help anyone.

- Elizabeth on April 21st, 2007

I don’t think anyone here is intentionally putting down home births. These forums are, after all, meant for people to voice an opinion. If we all thought the same thing, the world would be very boring.

Home births/tub births aren’t for every woman. Even women with an uncomplicated, healthy pregnancy might choose to give birth in a hospital. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with either, it’s a personal choice.

- Trish on April 21st, 2007

Thank you so much for this story. I immediately looked for more information and caregivers in my area. As it turns out, our midwife will be fully funded by the government (thank you Canada!) so I don’t have to worry about additional costs. My second pregnancy went horribly wrong when a doctor decided it would be great for her to ‘experience’ a cesarean section and delayed my delivery. Luckily, a resident caught it at the last moment and reported her secretly. The administration came in and had a full change of staff and the baby was delivered in 10 minutes. One of the residents later came by and apologized (even though they were risking liability) but I was just so glad that my son didn’t die that I was happy with a simple ‘sorry’. No amount of money can ever replace what could have happened. Now, I would like to have a different experience. I could have had that baby naturally without medication or intervention, but was prevented. This, at least, gives me some options.

Thanks, again!

- Kaywil on April 22nd, 2007

Go Ricki! I had a home waterbirth too and it was very empowering. I also had my first in a hospital after a long induction/labor so have been through both experiences. I would choose another home waterbirth anyday!

- Desiree on April 22nd, 2007

I agree, homebirth can be awesome, my friend had both of her children at home, the second one completely unassisted. I had natural births, but was too scared to go the homebirth route and chose to go to the hospital to give birth to my son and daughter. Home births are great if you choose to do it, I just couldn’t get past the “what if something goes wrong” part, even though I had a completely normal healthy pregnancy. I was super paranoid and couldn’t do it at home. Each to their own, some moms can do it, others are like me, too scared of the “What if” to even try giving birth at home.

- Alice on April 23rd, 2007

So glad a celebrity face is bringing attention to a much needed topic. While I had my first in the hospital, I did it all natural and am considering a homebirth for the second. I think the important thing is that Moms are informed! Take your health into your own hands and do the research yourself! Make a decision you can live with and make sure you understand all aspects of a having a baby in America.

- Autumn on April 23rd, 2007

Good for you Ricki, a huge thumbs up to her for speaking up and sharing her story, bringing homebirthing back as a ‘normal’ thing to do.

- Laura on July 10th, 2008

Homebirthers seem to need more courage than others especially since there IS a mob. Ricky Congratulations! I bet it was wonderful, Like most other women that gave birth at home I can but say I birthed a healthy babygirl ( our firstborn ) at home and it was awesome. It was my husband and my baby and me, we had no midwife. Moviemakers do absolutedly right when they find out the truth about hospitalprocedures and perhaps shed some light on happy births, even at home. Birth is too intimate for us to be broadcasted. I dare to write I am 38 weeks pregnant and FEEL a hospital birth would be more dangerous than a homebirth.

- Hanna on December 30th, 2008