Fifteen years ago, The Business of Being Born was released. The groundbreaking documentary was directed by Abby Epstein and produced by Ricki Lake, who also took part on camera, showing her son’s birth. The film showed the ways that the U.S. health care system was failing mothers, and it also showed the ways that birthing could — and should — be a powerful and beautiful experience for both mother and child.
Today, in its footsteps, a documentary by Paula James-Martinez displays just how far we’ve fallen behind. Born Free: Birth in America — which premiered on Mother’s Day, May 14, and is currently available via a handful of AVOD platforms for free so that as many women can access it as possible — shows how the United States of America, one of the richest countries on Earth and a leader in global politics, innovation, and technology, is also the leader in rising maternal mortality rate. In the last two decades, the deaths of women giving birth have doubled, and more than 80 percent of those deaths were preventable.
Due to things like missed appointments, unfilled prescriptions, loss of access to health care once the baby is born, lack of mental health awareness, and doctors simply missing or ignoring signs of trouble, like severe postpartum bleeding, women are losing their lives in what should be routine deliveries.
James-Martinez’s impetus for making Born Free came out of her own birthing experience — which was good. But it was good because she had the resources and the privilege to do the research, ask the questions, and advocate for herself. But she realized her birthing experience was an anomaly and couldn’t understand that in the land of the free and home of the brave why so many women were traumatized from their birthing experiences and sometimes didn’t even make it through. Though James-Martinez did not make her film in conjunction with Epstein and Lake, and Born Free wasn’t necessarily meant to be a follow-up to The Business of Being…
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