JCRegister

Have you got spare time tomorrow after lunch? You might want to watch a documentary about childbirth at Jersey City Museum.

Film Screening: The Business of Being Born

Where: Jersey City Museum
Address: 350 Montgomery St. @ Monmouth
Phone: 201.413-0303
When: Sunday, March 2, 2008. 2pm
Price: Admission $10. Members $8
Website: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Read ahead for the press release:

Jersey City Museum is pleased to present a special screening of the documentary, The Business of Being Born on Sunday, March 2nd at 2pm. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruited filmmaker Abby Epstein as they examine and question the way American women have babies. This film features these two women as together they explore the natural miracle and the moneymaking business that is the process of birth.

This film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey proves to become even more personal.

“As I began to shoot the film, I saw that nowhere does the tension between technology and nature
play out more dramatically than birth. The film became an unexpectedly personal journey when I hesitantly turned the camera on my own pregnancy and became my own subject. Initially making choices based on faith and intuition, I had to contend firsthand with all the issues and politics I had been exploring from a comfortable distance, until my choices were put to the ultimate test. The birth of my child and this film will remain forever intertwined, and both continue to surprise and thrill me every day,” says director Abby Epstein. More information on the film can be found at www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com.

Please Note: Documentary contains scenes of natural childbirth. MPAA rating: Unrated.