"Medical decisions are made for monetary and legal reasons, not because they're good for the mother and the baby," This quote that is said in the beginning montage of the documentary basically sums up the entire film. This film grew out of executive producer Ricki Lake's own experiences with birth, and her search to find other options. It interviews both medical doctors and midwives, as well as birth experts from around the world such as Ina May Gaskin and Dr. Michel Odent, as well as following several mothers in New York who are trying to take the natural birth path. The film doesn't focus as much on Ricki Lake as initial advertisements might represent, and I think that strengthened the film. She is in the background, only the guide for the position she wants to get across, not the star. There are shocking and interesting numbers presented, as well as an interesting segment following the problems with labor and delivery medicine over the years. It was narrated by a medical anthropologist, and I actually wish that they went more in depth about the history of obstetrics. I wish the short segment about the twilight sleepers and then the treatment of women in labor was longer, because I think it would highlight the point they were trying to make. There was a little bit of commentary about different medicines and processes used from the 1930s up to 1999 and the consequences from them, such as damage from X-Rays and birth defects from medicines prescribed. Again, I think more details and information on this topic would have only strengthened their argument, and their cursory dealing with it detracted from the final message.
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