Please read our most recent review on Birthing Beautiful Ideas Blog http://birthingbeautifulideas.com/?p=6430
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A review from a Public Health Student and Student Group Leader
"The Sexual and Reproductive Health Action Group (SHAG), a student-led organization at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Heath, wanted to hold an event this semester that focused on childbirth in the U.S., and the executive board asked me if I would be interested in facilitating a viewing of BoBB:CE. Many of SHAG's events concentrate on reproductive justice with a focus on contraception, abortion access, and sexual health, so I was thrilled that they wanted to branch out to incorporate birth.
We had approximately twenty-five people attend the event, with the majority of them public health students, however there were a few nursing students and medical students in attendance as well. Since our classes are very international focused in terms of maternal health, the viewing of BoBB:CE was an excellent way to have a conversation about domestic maternal health. For many of the students in attendance BoBB:CE provided them with an eye opening experience regarding the realities of maternity care in the U.S. It was also particularly powerful for some, as this was the first time they had seen what an unmedicated birth looked like, in both a hospital and home setting. Overall, the documentary was incredibly effective in creating an awareness among students who are already interested in reproductive health, but were lacking any prior exposure to facts about the problematic aspects of American maternity care.
Although I was already invested in pregnancy and birth world when the original BoBB documentary premiered, it was still an incredibly powerful film. It was incredibly exciting for me to know that there were other people doing work around an issue that I was very passionate about. Additionally, because BoBB received a great deal of press when it was released, it allowed me to discuss issues surrounding childbirth in the U.S. with people who were previously unaware, which was incredibly refreshing. Having the classroom edition of BoBB is essential for us to begin the conversation with a wider audience. This is a topic that many people do not engage with until they have already experienced the maternal health system in this country, but BoBB:CE provides the opportunity to expand the number of people who will keep this crucial topic on their radar, and perhaps go on to create change in the future."
- Rachel Sliman
Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University
Department of Population and Family Health
If you are interested in reviewing The Business of Being Born: Classroom Edition, please send us an email at ClassroomBoBB@gmail.com and we will send you a digital download.