Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret (2008)

I love this movie so much

Sorry, this movie sucks

Overrated

One of my all time favorites.

Let me preface this review by giving my background.I'm a 23 year old male nurse who has a fair amount of experience with the process of childbirth and labor. I've sat through actual births before and given support to new mothers. I am by no means bothered or queasy about the process of birth.And yet, this was one of the most disturbing movies i've seen in my life. It's not the process of child birth, it's the eerie level of intimacy which surrounds the entire movie. There's lots of footage of cuddly couples to be which in the context presented, comes off to me as voyeuristic. It's being given an uncomfortably close look at the lives of new mothers.There's plenty of educational value to this film, and i'd have no qualms with recommending this movie to the intended audience. But for every male in my age demographic who has their girlfriend present this movie to them, expect a night of awkward cuddling without any real satisfaction.

This excellent film demonstrates what women can do. Women can give birth without excessive medical intervention including the epidural, IV, and episiotomy. In the film you see women in comfortable surroundings supported and cared for by skilled midwives that respect and trust the normal birth process and allow the women to birth in an undisturbed, safe environment. Are they all "orgasmic births"? No, but the message in the film is not about orgasms, but about reframing how we view birth. I applaud the film maker, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, for being so bold in giving the film this title - it could be why "Orgasmic Birth" is going to be featured on 20/20. Many women that I have told about the film Orgasmic Birth have stated that "they want one too"! A must see film.

It's not very often that a book or movie comes out that has the potential to directly change people's lives, but "Orgasmic Birth" is such a movie. Debra Pascali-Bonaro's film is monumental in it's message for women everywhere: birth can be empowering, transformative, and even pleasurable! The film chronicles the pregnancies, labors, and births of about 10 families, and does an awesome job of depicting the diversity of an empowering experience: homebirths, birth center births, hospital births, water births, and families of different races, religions, and customs. Additionally the film includes the story of a mother who was sexually abused as a child and a young adult, and she shares that "My birth became the most powerful thing that's happened to my body...and I was transformed." The women's stories also depict that birth can be spiritually orgasmic, emotionally orgasmic, or even physically orgasmic -- but the point being that regardless of the orgasmic element itself, it can be orgasmic period! What a crucial message for the young women of our society! We've been raised to believe that childbirth is the most painful thing a woman will ever endure -- how much healthier and how much more hopeful is it to instead believe that birth is something to be treasured and ENJOYED?! I recently hosted a screening of "Orgasmic Birth" at my school, the University of Missouri. It was WILDLY successful, with over 100 people in attendance -- everyone from the local midwives, to professors to feminists, to mothers, to college women, to freshmen boys! Following the film, I hosted a panel of mothers and professional midwives to answer audience questions -- the questions poured in for 45 minutes! I've been hearing rumoring about a new campus organization: Med Students for Home Birth! One woman stood up and announced to the auditorium that this movie had changed her life forever -- "I know what I want now -- I want to have my babies at home with a midwife!" Another woman wrote a paper about the film, and still another created a project about the film for her Psychology of Women class. I just heard that someone else bought the film online after seeing it and is giving it out as Christmas presents! Do yourself a huge favor -- SEE THIS MOVIE. Especially if you are a woman of childbearing age! KNOW your options before you get pregnant! Find out what's right for YOU! I'm sure many people reading this review have seen "The Business of Being Born," which is also incredible. I would distinguish the two by simply saying this: BOBB shows birth they way it is. Orgasmic Birth shows it the way it COULD BE. My cousin put it this way: "BOBB was eye-opening. Orgasmic Birth was heart-opening."

As a supporter of undisturbed birth, I've waited a long time for a film like this! Orgasmic Birth is much more than a film about how to experience pleasure in birth. It's about viewing birth as a natural bodily function, rather than an inherently dangerous, painful medical event that needs to be managed, controlled and medicated. It's about tapping into our own natural resources, instead of turning ourselves over to the medical establishment to "save" us from ourselves. Any natural bodily function proceeds best when it's done in privacy, and this is what the women in the film advocate. Unfortunately, most members of the medical profession pretend that birth isn't sexual, yet it involves the same hormones, organs and emotions as sex. When we recognize the inherent sexuality of childbirth, overcome our fears and inhibitions, and keep strangers away as much as possible, birth CAN be ecstatic if not orgasmic. It certainly was for me. I highly recommend this film, and know it is destined to change the way society views our most intimate act of creation. We do NOT have to choose between a medicated, medically managed birth and a painful, difficult "natural" one. There is a third choice and Debra Pascali-Bonaro has found it!