The Face of Birth press kit
Synopsis
The Face of Birth - a film about pregnancy, childbirth and the power of choice.
Three years in the making, filmed across the globe from London to Alice Springs, The
Face of Birth is a movie with vital information for anyone considering giving birth today.
In 2009 it nearly became illegal to have a homebirth in Australia. Three years later in
2012 the number of women choosing a homebirth has doubled! Who are these women
and why are the medical establishment and current birth culture so against them?
This 87-minute documentary follows the diverse, heart warming and sometimes heart
wrenching stories of a hand-full of mothers as they guide us through the plethora of
information and opinions facing mothers–to-be when deciding how, where and with
whom to give birth to their babies.
The film sorts fact from fiction in childbirth. It explores the politics of risk, safety and fear
and exposes our mistrust of women in birth. The film also features many of the world’s
top birth experts, including the famed Sheila Kitzinger (author of over 23 books on
pregnancy and childbirth), and the founder of modern midwifery in the USA, Ina May
Gaskin.
We hear from Dr Rupert Sherwood, (President, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists) whose college actively opposes homebirth saying that it is
‘unsafe’. Obstetricians Euan Wallace and Andrew Bisits (who have started up hospital
homebirth pilot programs.) strongly disagree, claiming that modern obstetrics is not
serving the best interests of women.
Our diverse home birth mothers include AFI award winning actress Noni Hazlehurst.
She’s know by one generation from Playschool and another from City Homicide, but do
her fans know why she chose a home birth?
Mother and doctor Sara Renwick - Lau, chose a home birth for her second child after her
first baby was delivered by emergency caesarean section at a maternity hospital in
Darwin where she also worked. She claims her independent midwife gave much better
care than her colleagues at the hospital.
And young Aboriginal mum Tanya Kunoth, from the remote community Utopia in central
Australia, who had two babies in hospital and two babies on country, she shares why it’s
so important for her to be able to birth on her land, and why for her home felt safer than
in hospital.
Beautifully filmed and openly revealing, The Face of Birth tells about all the things we
never knew about birth and the power of choice.
BIOS
Mothers
Noni Hazlehurst
Dr Sarah Renwick Lau
Noni is one of Australia’s most distinguished and
respected actors and is a winner of four Australian
Film Institute (AFI) awards, a recipient of an Order
of Australia in 1995 and an Honorary Doctorate of
Philosophy from Flinders University (SA). She is an
ambassador and patron for numerous child welfare
organisations. Passionate about women's rights
Noni shares her beautiful home birth stories of
both her sons and her feminist view on birth being
marginalized in Australia today.
A remote-area GP, Sarah worked for two years
in Arnhem Land, in Australia's Northern
Territory, where isolation means it’s vital to be
prepared and avoid risks. Despite this she still
chose an empowering and totally natural
vaginal birth after caesarian (VBAC) at home for
her second child.
Johanna Preston
Johanna lives in the glamorous world
of high fashion as an internationally
renowned shoe designer and
businesswoman. Johanna had her
three children at home in her
studio/residence with her
independent midwife.
Vicki Car
A Croatian Australian, Vicki holds the
prestigious position of Head Milliner at The
Australian Ballet. Vicki experienced medical
complications along her home birth journey,
which eventually led to an emergency
caesarean. She shares her experience, which
she describes as positive because she was
able to choose and retain independent
midwife lead care.
Tanya Kunoth
Tanya lives in a remote Aboriginal
community in central Australia, 270
kilometers from the nearest hospital. She
has four children; two were born in
hospital and two born 'on country' with
her care led by the community health
service midwife.
BIOS EXPERTS
Some of our experts (for a full list see www.faceofbirth.com)
Sheila Kitzinger MBE
Social anthropologist, researcher, author and
campaigner for nurtured evidence-based childbirth,
Sheila lectures internationally and at
various universities and hospitals in midwifery.
She has written over 26 books on pregnancy and
childbirth including the well known Politics of Birth.
She now works with women who have had damaging
birth experiences and campaigns for women to have
the information they need to make choices about
childbirth
Michel Odent
Michel Odent MD initially trained as a surgeon. He was
in charge of the surgical and maternity units at the state
hospital in Pithiviers, France (1962-1985) where, he
introduced the first birthing centres and water births
during the 1970s. Now he is a midwife, educator,
researcher and author of 12 books.
Following his hospital career he founded the Primal
Health Research Centre in London (UK), whose
objective is to study the long-term consequences of
early life experiences.
Richard Porter
Hannah Dahlen
Richard Porter MA MSc BM BCh FRCOG is the
Director of Maternity Services at the Royal United
Hospital (RUH) in Bath, England.
He has been the Lead Uro-gynaecologist/Pelvic Floor
Surgeon since 2001.
He was an adviser on Maternity Services (in the
former USSR) to the World Health Organisation, UK
Department of International Development, and other
NGOs. HeDahlen
was Adviser
on Maternity
Services
Hannah
is the Associate
Professor
of to
Ministry
of
Health,
Uzbekistan
from
1992
to
2003.
Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney.
Hannah has published numerous papers in peer
reviewed journals and book chapters. She has
presented papers at over 100 conferences since
2000. She is currently on the Australian College of
Midwives NSW Executive committee and was
nominated in 2008 as a life member for
outstanding contributions to the profession of
Midwifery.
Euan Wallace
Professor Euan Wallace MBChB, MD, FRCOG,
FRANZCOG graduated with a degree in Medicine
from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where
he completed his research and clinical training.
He joined Monash University, Melbourne Australia in
1996.
He established and leads a Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Research Group within Monash Institute for Medical
Research’s (MIMR) Centre for Women’s Health
Research. In 2010 he set up a pilot home birth
program
Rhea Dempsey
Rhea Dempsey T.P.T.C. Dip. C.B.E., N.A.C.E.,
Trainer, Grad. Dip, Counseling and Human
Services is childbirth educator with over 28
years' experience and is the mother of three
daughters.
She works with women in home and hospital
settings.
She is a regular presenter at
Professor Lesley Page was expert adviser to The King’s
conferences, seminars and workshops on birth
Fund
Inquiry
into as
therunning
safety ofher
maternity
and Independent
counseling issues
as well
own
services
England,
reported
in Safe Births:
classesin
through
thewhich
Birthing
Wisdom
Everybody’s Business (2008).
Lesley has had many years of experience working as a
senior manager in the National Health Service (NHS)
and in midwifery practice, leadership and academia in
the UK and Canada. Lesley is a visiting professor at
King's College London and UTS Sydney and University of
Sydney, clinical appointment Radcliff Hospital
Trust. She has published widely and has lectured in
many parts of the world
Lesley Page
Andrew Bisits
Andrew Bisits MBBS (Syd FRANZCOG (RCOG)
DipClinEpidem (Newcastle) Master Med Statistics
(Newcastle) runs the birthing unit at Sydney's
Royal Hospital for Women.
He is an academic obstetrician with training in
epidemiology and biostatistics. Formerly he was
the Director of Obstetrics in the Hunter Valley
region of New South Wales, Australia,
Sally Tracy
Sally is a midwife, researcher, author and activist.
She is the Professor of Midwifery at the University of
Sydney and based at the Midwifery Research Unit at
the Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney. Her Research
projects include a randomised controlled trial of
caseload midwifery care and a project to determine the
safety of primary level midwifery led units.
She helped to set up the Ryde Midwifery Caseload
Practice in Sydney, in 2003. Her current research
questions the acceptability of the increasing interference
of obstetrics with the physiological birth process.
Rupert Sherwood
Djapirri Mununggurritji
Lena Pula (Pwerle)
Dr Sherwood - President Royal Australian and New
Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology
(RANZCOG) is a graduate of the Medical School of the
University of Tasmania. For eight and a half years he
worked as a General Practitioner in Western Australia.
In 1992 he commenced specialist training at King
Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth where he was a
Registrar for three years before coming to the Royal
Hobart Hospital to complete his training in Obstetrics
and Gynaecology. In 1998 he helped form Hobart
OBGYN, a specialist obstetrics and gynaecology practice.
Dr Sherwood maintains an interest in teaching medical
students, registrars and residents at the Royal Hobart
Hospital. He is also a College examiner.
Yolgnu elder Djapirri is currently Manager of the
Yirrkala Women’s Centre and a trailblazer in the
political arena. She was the first woman elected as Vice
Chair of Yirrkala Dhanbul Council and the first woman
to be nominated as Chair. In 2004, Djapirri was
instrumental in establishing the Yirrkala Women’s
Patrol, which saw Aboriginal elders walk the streets
late at night to successfully deal with community safety
issues. She is also working towards reconciliation on a
national scale in her role on the board of Reconciliation
Australia. Djapirri is also a finalist in Australian of the
year - Local Hero for Northern Territory
Respected Elders, sisters Lena and Rosie Pula are
traditional Indigenous midwives from the Arlparra
Urapuntja community in Central Australia. They have
many years experience in helping women birth 'on
country'. They still occasionally attend births, working
with the Urapuntja Health Service's midwives. Lena has
been a member of the Aboriginal Areas Protection
Authority Board since 1999. She is regarded by other
female board members as an authority on women’s site
issues. As her role as traditional grandmother she sits on
Alukura Cultural Advisory Council (ACAC). Lena and
Rosie are also well known artists
Ina May Gaskin
Robbie Davis Floyd
Ina May Gaskin MA, CPM is founder and director of the
Farm Midwifery Center, Tennessee, USA. She has
attended more than 1,200 births and is author of
Spiritual Midwifery, now in its fourth edition. For twentytwo years she published Birth Gazette, a quarterly
covering health care, childbirth and midwifery issues.
She has lectured all over the world at midwifery
conferences and at medical schools. In 1997, she
received the ASPO/Lamaze Irwin Chabon Award and the
Tennessee Perinatal Association Recognition Award. In
2003 she was chosen as Visiting Fellow of Morse College,
Yale University. Ina May developed the Gaskin
Manoeuvre -the first obstetrical manoeuvre to be named
after a midwife.
Robbie Davis Floyd PhD is a Senior Research Fellow in
Anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin, and an
Adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
She is a cultural anthropologist specializing in medical,
ritual and gender studies and the anthropology of
reproduction. She lectures at childbirth, midwifery and
obstetrical conferences around the world. Robbie has
written over 70 articles as well as the book Birth as an
American Rite of Passage (1992).
Background: Making The Face of Birth
Melbourne filmmaker and actor Kate Gorman, pregnant for the third time, had just found
out that her right to choose how, where and with whom she gave birth was under threat.
Shocked that she might have one of the last legal homebirths in Australia, Kate was
compelled to make a film about the issue. Her first call was to a producer friend, who
insisted she talk to Newcastle filmmaker, Gavin Banks.
Gavin was in development of a documentary about the value of continuity of care in birth,
and the great divide between the latest scientific recommendations (evidence-based
practice) and clinical practice in modern maternity care.
The two filmmakers met, agreed to collaborate and immediately embarked on what was
to become a three-year, across-the-world-and-back journey to research, write, interview,
film and edit The Face of Birth.
KATE - ‘It has been a privilege to meet the world top birth experts and to hear the stories
from our mothers, I hope this film moves, entertains, informs and most of all, helps
women feel empowered to make informed choices for having their babies, helps them
have empowered births with great outcomes and without fear. For as every mother
knows, that moment when you catch and hold your newborn to your bare skin is the
beginning of falling in love. How and where this happens is the first of a million choices
that you will make for your child. Every choice needs to be respected for every women
and there needs to be the support to help her achieve the birth she wants whenever
medically possible.’
The Filmmakers
Kate Gorman
Kate has worked in the film industry for the last 25 years. As an actor
appearing in more than 25 TV programs including City Homicide, Rush, Kath
and Kim, Full Frontal and several years on some of Australia’s best loved
soaps. Six feature films and 25 plays both here and in the UK.
As a writer she has written for, Comedy Inc and Full Frontal, breakfast radio
on TTFM as well as receiving development funding from Film Victoria for a
feature screenplay which was optioned by a Melbourne production house. She
went onto write the screenplay for her award winning film FIVE MOMENTS
OF INFIDELITY which she also produced and directed.
FIVE MOMENTS OF INFIDELITY won - Best Film DIGISPAA, Best Film Salento
IFF (Italy), Best Australian film IPIFF (USA), and screened at 10 other
Festivals – receiving further nominations for Best Screenplay, Best Direction
and several Best Performance nominations.
Kate has three children her eldest borne in a birth centre, 2nd at home in the
UK and her youngest at home in Melbourne. Kate is passionate about telling
stories, and by capturing on film strong women’s stories would like to help
change the culture of birth from one of fear to one of support and
empowerment.
Gavin Banks
Gavin's career in film & TV started almost 20 years ago when he
commenced a B.A. in Communication Studies. After graduating top
of his year he entered the world of broadcast television as an ENG
cameraman for PRIME television before moving into the private
sector where he started directing, shooting and editing corporate
and industrial films.
In 2000 Gavin established his own boutique production company,
GOOD EYE DEER, which continues to produce content for many
local, national and international clients.
His first foray into documentary was working as cinematographer
on the critically-acclaimed THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN LOCKOUT, a
1hr documentary for the history channel. Other achievements
include working as cinematographer on the multi-award-winning
short THE UNSPOKEN ; and working as Director of Photography on
the independent feature, BATHING FRANKY, released in June 2012.
Gavin's introduction to the benefits of natural, physiological
childbirth started in 2003, when he co-directed THE BIRTHRITE
EXPERIENCE, a 1hr educational film about the physiological
benefits of upright birth. Fascinated by the emotional impact of the
birth experience on mother and baby, Gavin's interest in birth
continued. Research began into understanding the divide between
the realities of modern maternity service provision and evidencebased practice.
Gavin lives in Newcastle with his partner and two children.