After the birth of my second baby, I honestly felt that I could conquer everything from brokering peace in the Mid-East to bending steel with my bare hands. Even after the endorphins and epidural wore off, I still felt like a powerful goddess. Not to get too airy-fairy about it -- but it was a life-changer of an experience and not just in the obvious physical ways. Beyond what it did to everything south of my belly button, it was emotionally empowering.
The birth of my first baby, however, was the exact opposite of that.
Just about every woman who has given birth has a similar story to tell, which is why Ricki Lake's newest project should be required viewing for anyone who has had a baby, will have a baby or will be in the room while someone else has a baby. The Business of Being Born, directed by Abby Epstein, chronicles the births of a couple of women and examines the machinery of modern medicine.
As the Huffington Post's Heather Cabot points out today, Lake and Epstein's film has the potential to open up discussions about the hows and whys of birth - even for those of us who didn't labor in a bathtub surrounded by incense and tinkly new age tunes.
While the project itself might be required viewing, Lake herself might have some 'splaining to do about exactly how far her assistant had to go to keep her job. Is the cleaning up of various bodily fluids addressed in the film? And, if so, does that figure into the cost of being born?
