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? 

Director’s Statement: 
When my friend Ricki Lake approached me about making this film, I admitted to her that I was afraid to even witness a woman giving birth, let alone film one. I had never pronounced the word "midwifery" and I thought Ricki insane, as she planned the birth of her second child, for passing up an epidural in a hospital delivery. But as I did the research, I discovered that the business of being born is another infuriating way medical traditions and institutions--hospitals and insurance companies--actually discourage choice and even infringe on parents’ intimate rites, ultimately obstructing the powerful natural connection between mother and newborn child. As I began to shoot the film, I saw that nowhere does the tension between technology and nature play out more dramatically than birth. The film became an unexpectedly personal journey when I hesitantly turned the camera on my own pregnancy and became my own subject. Initially making choices based on faith and intuition, I had to contend firsthand with all the issues and
politics I had been exploring from a comfortable distance, until my choices were put to the ultimate test. The birth of my child and this film will remain forever intertwined, and both continue to surprise and thrill me every day.

Abby Epstein
April 2007