DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Birth Story:
Ina May Gaskin & the Farm Midwives
Director:
Sara Lamm & Mary Wigmore
Producers:
Sara Lamm
Mary Wigmore
Zachary Mortensen
Kate Roughan
team
Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives captures a spirited group of women who taught themselves how to deliver babies on a 1970s hippie commune, rescued modern midwifery from extinction, and changed the way a generation thought about childbirth. Today, as nearly 1/3 of all US babies are born via C-section, they labor on, fighting to preserve their knowledge and pushing, once again, for the rebirth of birth.
trailer
“…makes you want to hop into a tub of warm water and start pushing.”
— New York Times
“Warm, spirited and occasionally slathered in goo, “Birth Story” is a celebratory tribute to the endangered art of midwifery and its most influential practitioner, Ina May Gaskin. A disarming example of documentary filmmaking that stakes out an opinion with plain-spoken, commonsensical wisdom, this insightful effort from helmers Sara Lamm and Mary Wigmore doubles as a defense of natural childbirth and an affectionate look back at the movement’s ’70s countercultural roots.”
— Justin Chang, Variety
“For 40 years, the amazing Ina May Gaskin has been trying to wrest childbirth from the medical establishment and give it back to women. A fascinating history lesson and a raucous celebration of life…you’ll shed tears of joy at the sight of babies being brought into this world with a sense of wonder, awe and love.”
— Matt Holzman, Matt’s Movies, KCRW
A graphic tale of badass midwifery…”
— bitch magazine
“There are so many birthing scenes that they lose the ooh-a-naked-lady effect, a great public service in itself. (Idea: Everyone should look at a naked lady doing something powerful and nonsexual five times a day. Then let’s see how many women get into Congress.)”