The Big Stretch ~

'The Big Stretch' – insights about birth – by Alieta Belle & Jenny Blyth

The Big Stretch presents a fresh insight into the amazing journey each woman takes in becoming a mother. Women in different stages of pregnancy and preparing for a natural birth reflect on how they are 'stretched' in every way – emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Orgasmic Birth ~

What would happen if women were taught to enjoy birth rather than endure it?

In answering that question, Orgasmic Birth poses the ultimate challenge to our cultural myths.

Filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro reveals a revolutionary approach to birth that is statistically safer and healthier for both mother and child than the birthing and delivery methods that are standard in many parts of the world today.

The viewer becomes an intimate part of the birth stories of 11 women who said YES to this journey. Each is shown laboring undisturbed in a free, sensuous, joyous moment.

The evocative score for the film was created by John McDowell, composer of the score for the Oscar-winning documentary Born Into Brothels, with additional composition by Sabina Sciubba of the group Brazilian Girls.

With commentary by Dr. Christiane Northrup, Ina May Gaskin, and other experts in the field . . . and stunning moments of women in the ecstatic release of childbirth.

Birth Rites ~

What would happen if women were taught to enjoy birth rather than endure it?

Birth Rites draws powerful comparisons between birth in outback Australia and the icy regions of Canada. These two indigenous cultures have a shared history of dispossession as well as social and health problems. Both countries have routinely evacuated women from their hometowns to birth alone in far away hospitals. The Inuit midwives have made a breakthrough with the first Inuit controlled Birth Centre in remote Puvirnituq (Canada). In Australia, the women's stories expose for the first time the devastating personal and cultural repercussions of this "separation policy". .

The Business of Being Born ~

Birth is a miracle, a rite of passage, a natural part of life. But birth is also big business.

Compelled to explore the subject after the delivery of her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to question the way American women have babies.

The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.

Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

What Babies Want ~

What Babies Want is an award winning documentary film that explores the profoundly important and sacred opportunity we have in bringing children into the world. Filled with captivating stories and infused with Noah Wyle's warmth as narrator, the film demonstrates how life patterns are established at birth and Photo of Noah Wyle before. The documentary includes groundbreaking information on early development as well as appearances by the real experts: babies and families.

Research is now showing us that our society is a product of how we welcome and raise our children. When babies are welcomed with love and warmth and given the immediate opportunity to bond with parents, Photo of girl and infant they develop minds that are coherent and flexible, ready in turn to make compassionate and meaningful connections with others as they grow.

As we learn how early relationships shape the structure and function of the brain, we are also gaining a new appreciation of the wisdom of ancient cultures that understood the importance of welcoming children before, during and after the moment of birth.
Photo of Noah and Owen

Narrated by Noah Wyle, What Babies Want explores these ideas, documenting heart warming personal experiences before, during and after childbirth as well as evidence of consciousness, communication and awareness in prenatal, newborn and very young infants.