Ricki Lake's Documentary Examines the Big Business Model of Birth in the US

AUSTIN, TX, October 16, 2007 -- A powerful new documentary examining the big business of the "birth industry" in the US comes to Austin audiences for a special advanced screening. The film will be presented at the Hideout Theatre at 617 Congress Avenue at 7pm on November 9, 2007. Tickets are available to the public through The Central Texas Birth Network.The Central Texas Birth Network and BOLDAUSTIN are pleased to share this important film with Central Texans.

Following the midwife-assisted homebirth of her second child, entertainment personality Ricki Lake was inspired to produce a documentary about women's dwindling options for alternatives to heavily medicalized and "interventionist" births that have become the standard in the US. Childbirth has literally become big business with profits and losses often driving providers' decisions.

Austin is an appropriate audience for this documentary. C-section rates in Texas averaged around 32% in 2005 (NCHS, 2006), slightly higher than the national average. Faith Beltz, a certified professional midwife in Austin, notes, “With almost half of Texas births paid for by Medicaid (MCH Update, 2005), the lack of evidence-based care and the increasing epidemic of cesarean birth is an issue for all Texans. Parents today want and deserve accurate information regarding their risks and options in birth. A big part of that requires an understanding of all of the various factors that affect obstetric policies and decisions."

Despite all of the medical technology available to American doctors and hospitals, US birth statistics present a grim picture:

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), countries with some of the lowest
      perinatal mortality rates in the world have cesarean section rates under 10%.
• Cesareans are the most commonly performed surgery in the US, at a cost of over $14 
      billion per year.
• Studies by Washington-based Public Citizen's health research group indicate the
      cesarean rate for hospitals with nurse-midwifery services was about 13% lower than the
      average cesarean rate for all hospitals. In 2002, physicians at Seton Medical Center and
      Brackenridge Hospital ended their affiliations with the only two hospital-based midwife
      groups in Austin. Currently, women in Austin are unable to have their babies in a hospital
      with a midwife.

Susan Steffes, a local birth doula--a birth mother's dedicated assistant and advocate—states, "With the lack of continuity of care in hospitals," Steffes notes, "the doula is often the only person who provides continuous emotional and physical support for the laboring woman and her partner. If we want to continue to have options available to birthing women, it's the women themselves that need to rise up and take action. They're apt to lose what remaining few options exist unless they do. And if it's not enough that they do it for themselves, they need to do it for their sisters, friends, and most importantly their daughters."

A theatrical release of this film is scheduled in January and will be limited to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. Cities like Austin are hosting the film through grassroots efforts such as those headed up by The Central Texas Birth Network and BOLDAUSTIN. Audiences can learn more about this important film now at www.centexbirthnetwork.org/movie.aspx. Seating at the screening will be limited and audiences are encouraged to buy tickets early. Advance Purchase tickets can be purchased online at http://businessofbeingbornaustin.eventbrite.com or at the door on the night of the event.

About the Central Texas Birth Network: The CTBN is a member-supported organization of childbirth professionals, healthcare providers, and other businesses that serve expecting mothers and families. Members support a woman’s right to make informed decisions about her pregnancy and birth options and advocate evidence-based, mother-friendly care, as defined by the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI) of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services.

Its goal is to connect families with providers for the childbearing year in the Austin and surrounding Central Texas communities. A provider directory is available on its website to assist families who are searching for quality care, services and products.

About BOLDAUSTIN: Birth On Labor Day (BOLD) is a global movement to make maternity care mother-friendly by raising awareness of maternity care issues, raising money for organizations working to make maternity care mother friendly, and validating mothers' birth experiences in all communities world wide, through the use of the arts.

Contact: Darlene MacAuley

info@centexbirthnetwork.org

512-691-9546

--- # # # ---