Actress Ricki Lake and documentary filmmaker Abby Epstein have already received plenty of praise for their work in detailing the state of birth in the U.S. in their 2008 film, "The Business of Being Born". In May, they published the book "Your Best Birth", billed as "a practical pregnancy guide" the authors hope will equip women with much needed information on current birthing options.
The book is already becoming popular among natural birth advocates. Expanding on this success, Lake and Epstein the same month launched an accompanying natural birthing forum for women: "My Best Birth". The forum provides "a community for people to share experiences and explore options about pregnancy, natural birth and holistic parenting," according to a description on the homepage.
Lake and Epstein are quick to point out in an interview posted on their publisher's website, that they are not anti- hospital birth, but instead want to highlight the midwifery model of care and the difference in care a midwife attended birth offers women whether in hospital, a birthing center or at home. In addition, they seek to inform women of the risks of elective c-sections in a non-judgmental way.
The number of elective c-sections have been rising rapidly throughout the U.S. with riskier pre-term elective c-sections making up an estimated 35 percent of elective c-section births, according to recently published studies.
Epstein and Lake believe more attention on natural birth options and labor support is needed for women to make positive choices that protect their own health and the health of their babies.
Using the popular Ning social network technology, the "My Best Birth" forum already has well over 6,000 members signed up. A series of webisodes debuts on the network forum today. The first webisode will feature former model Cindy Crawford, who herself experienced an unmedicated homebirth with the delivery of her first child.
Other celebrities interviewed for the upcoming "My Best Birth" webisodes include Christy Turlington, Melissa Joan Hart, Alyson Hannigan, Laila Ali, Kellie Martin, Sarah Wayne Callies, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Joely Fisher.
-photo credit: jonaldinger, flickr
Comments