A Good Birth
By Tara Young

DVD version includes Spanish subtitles.

Throughout the United States, over 6,000 nurse-midwives are practicing a unique, personalized form of birthing care, bridging the best that both the midwifery and medical models of care can offer to healthy women. Though specializing in normal, uncomplicated births, they are trained to deal with many complications of pregnancy and delivery, and can co-manage even high-risk births with obstetricians and other medical specialists.

A Good Birth visits the Rio Grande Valley, along the Texas-Mexico border, where certified nurse-midwives working in both free-standing and hospital-based settings are providing maternity and infant care — along with emotional support and empowerment — to poor and working class mothers. Ninety percent of the families they serve fall below the poverty line, or are illegal immigrants who cannot qualify for aid.

From education programs for teenage mothers, to attending at-home births, to post-natal care, these dedicated midwives provide individualized attention to the physical and emotional needs of mothers, infants, and families, not only during pregnancy and the birthing process, but beyond.

Through the stories of mothers from a range of backgrounds, and of midwives at various stages in their careers, A Good Birth highlights the vital, nurturing role these caregivers play in the lives of the mothers and families who have chosen this increasingly important alternative to birth in the hospital.

22 minutes
© 2006
Purchase $229 VHS / Purchase $229 DVD
Order No. QA-440
ISBN (VHS) 1-57295-440-X
ISBN (DVD) 1-57295-826-X

Reviews
Wonderfully illustrates the personalized care that the midwifery model offers to women and their families. It also makes clear that midwives provide family-centered care, including family members in the pregnancy and birth process. Deborah Issokson, Psy.D., Counseling for Reproductive Health & Healing

Engaging as it is informative. Faithfully reflects the midwifery model in its seamless integration of sound clinical content and revealing human moments. Both for health professionals and for birthing women and their families the film demonstrates convincingly why many women choose midwives to attend their births and how deeply they benefit from that choice. Archie Brodsky, Dept. of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; co-author, Home Birth: A Practitioner’s Guide to Birth Outside the Hospital; former president, Massachusetts Friends of Midwives

Five women showcase the variety of situations that midwives are trained to handle, stressing the warm, loving care they bring to the birth process. The emphasis on education and empowerment they bring to their patients adds another dimension often lacking in typical ob/gym practices. Recommended. Educational Media Reviews Online

Awards & Conference Screenings
WorldFest Houston Film Festival,
Bronze Remi Award
Zero to Three National Training Institute
Lamaze International Video Theater

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The Mothers' Triangle: Mary was 16 when Christina was born; now, at 18, Christina is a mother too. Best friends, mother and daughter, jealous rivals — will their intense but fragile relationship survive the escalating conflicts triggered by Cristian's arrival?

Bundle of Blues: The stories in this thoughtful documentary represent a range of experiences from minor postpartum depression through postpartum psychosis. It stresses that PPD can happen to any new mother, but that it can be managed.

A Chance to Grow: Follows three families whose babies are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Their stories demonstrate the capacity of ordinary individuals to adapt to crises with extraordinary grace and courage.

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