A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet three women I admire greatly. Here I am with two of them.
Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein were in San Francisco to screen the new film, Mama Sherpas, directed by Brigid Maher.
Mama Sherpas is a picture of what maternity care in American hospitals can look like when OBs and midwives work together collaboratively. It's also a personal story for Brigid whose first birth was a c-section, and most likely unnecessary. She credits the midwifery care she received in the hospital for her successful VBAC the second time around.
At the screening I also met many Bay Area midwives and supporters. It was great to make some in person connections with people I've been virtually in contact with over the past few months. Nancy, the first home birth midwife I talked to for this project, was there and seems to know everybody. She very kind to offer introductions.
Maybe it's just because I'm looking for it right now, but it does feel like there is new energy for changing the system of maternity care in the US. Articles like this one in the Atlantic and of course this one from an OB in Time give me reason to hope.
Films like Why Not Home? and Mama Sherpas have an opportunity to educate and inform in a powerful way.
It isn't going to be any one thing that changes the system. Collectively all of these efforts are moving us toward changes that will improve access, safety, and experience whether families choose to give birth at home or in the hospital.