6 Documentaries on Birth, Maternal Health and Motherhood

For visual and experiential learners like myself, documentaries are everything. You can give me a book with all the statistics and the stories on a subject, and I'll learn a lot. But let me see a face, hear a voice, and be told the story as I watch — and I'll remember what I've learned a in a lot more detail for a lot longer. So I am so grateful for these documentaries that introduced me to significant information about the state of birth, maternal health and motherhood in the United States today. If you're interested in this issue as well, you don't want to miss these.

The Mama Sherpas
With C-section rates dangerously over 30% in America, are midwives the solution? In recent years, the idea of a “collaborative care” practice where doctors and midwives manage women’s care together has begun to gain traction. Research has demonstrated that collaborative care models produce better outcomes for mother and baby, including fewer C-sections. This film provides an intimate lens into how midwives across the country work within and better the hospital system, redefining how the US looks at the birthing process.

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Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin & the Farm Midwives

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Death by Delivery
Fusion TV marked International Women's Day this year with Death by Delivery, a searing portrait of the cost of racism in America. See what Fusion's Nelufar Hedayat found while reporting on this systemic problem affecting black women across the country.

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The Milky Way

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The Business of Being Born
Of all the documentaries in this list, this is one you've probably heard of already. I'm still including it!


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BONUS: Why Not Home
Beautiful and informative! I was so honored to support its Kickstarter campaign and attend one of its first screenings in my city.

Why would doctors who attend birth in hospitals choose to have their own babies at home? What do they know about birth that others don't? Told through the lens of doctors, nurses, and midwives, this film examines the latest evidence on risks and rewards of different birth settings. The film presents a balanced and accessible view on the latest research, along with moving personal stories of medical practitioners faced with big decisions for their own growing families.

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Are there other documentaries you've watched that should be on this list? Tell me about them in the comments below!