cool news

Orgasmic Birth is now available on Netflix! The film could use positive reviews to encourage people to put it in the queue! Please feel free to spread the word!

Huffington Post on Orgasmic Birth

here - kinda cool!  

Although there is natural connection, I assume the writer puts Debra Pascali-Bonaro, director of Orgasmic Birth & Laura Shanley, of the Unassisted Childbirth, movement together in the article because he and his wife had unassisted homebirths.  Anyway, the inclusion of the topic on The Huffington Post makes me feel that a certain critical mass is being reached, or at least we are moving in that direction.

my review:20/20

So I thought the 20/20 segment on Orgasmic Birth was pretty fantastic (but not the show as a whole). I do wish there had been a clear soundbite about how orgasmic birth does not have to mean that actual climax is achieved...they may have said this & I missed it, but I felt the segment seemed to indicate that an actual orgasm was a necessary part of the ecstatic birth experience rather than just the happy icing on the already-awesome birthday cake. Anyway, way to go, Debra!

But I have complaints on the show as a whole (of course!): First, the warning that the Orgasmic Birth segment might be inappropriate - wow - what about giving that warning when showing a highly interventive technocratic birth? That could certainly be more dangerous to one's psyche than seeing some women smiling and laughing.

I know the show was about "extremes" in motherhood but why the need to find such unusual examples to put with Orgasmic Birth? The piece on unassisted birth really pissed me off because they lumped in The Business Of Being Born and all homebirth with unassisted birth. I'm not commenting negatively on people who wish to have UC, but the births they showed, aside from Laura Shanley's birth footage appeared to be from BoBB and attended by midwives (at least one of which was filmed in a hospital birth center, not even at home)...UC is a small portion of homebirth and I think to suggest otherwise is at best misleading and sloppy and serves to reinforce the just-now-changing-for-the-positive mainstream opinion that homebirth is selfish (in fact that was a comment/question posed to Ricki Lake on the homebirth /UC piece last night) and foolhardy. Most people who birth at home do so with extremely qualified medical assistance. I found that segment quite hostile.

Same with the breastfeeding piece - people who are nursing 9 year olds are quite rare & that's why they make the news. But the piece started with a woman nursing 3yo twins - not rare at all, given that the average age of weaning world-wide is 4 years (props to 20/20 for mentioning this)...yet it was still portrayed as though the twins mom was doing something a little bit weird or wrong. And then there was the whole "what does your husband think - isn't he left out sexually" angle that was pretty lame, imho.

The life-like dolls...hmmm - I don't quite know what to say other than the segment made me feel a little sad. And once again, I did not appreciate the created context of "wacky/screw loose people" in which to view Orgasmic Birth & homebirth.

What about you? Please share your reactions!

cool reader comment

Not sure if this was in relation to the 20/20 segment last night or the news article, but I thought it was worth sharing - so thanks anonymous Jay! (ps: I had to look up bdsm!)

Western woman are continually conditioned about all sorts of things from what to wear [classic couture], to how to look [thin not fat], how to have sex [no bdsm/fetishes] and how to give birth [nothing esoteric, just on a table on your back]

This piece was brilliant. For years woman have been brainwashed with all these different messages of what motherhood is and should be, and how it should flow. Yet no one tells you how important, not only the conception is, but how much more important, the very beginning of that child coming out of your body, will be in setting the tone, between your sacred temple [your body], your heart, the life you created, and your partner. Every step of the way, that entire union needs to be respected by you, and those in the room.

Yes, not for all woman but some women out there are blessed with the ability to transform their thoughts/attitudes into vibrations and release those endorphins that the body responds to and transform them into powerful relaxation techniques. These woman can definitely have a relaxed orgasmic water birth, have these amazing doulas, and these enlightened husbands/partners, that bring good energy and light into the birthing room, that their body soak up during labor that allow these woman to give birth in an orgasmic state. There is tantric sex, runners high after a marathon, lightness in the head after a great yoga class, why can't these women have orgasms have during birth?

Its all about thought, attitude, and perception. We need to see more of these stories, and give our new moms more choice in their care and the health of their children.

--Jay

Orgasmic Birth in NYT

What would happen if women were taught to enjoy birth rather than endure it?

That's the question that the film Orgasmic Birth asks. Although OB has been bumped from tonight's 20/20 lineup in favor of coverage of the IL Governor mess (and is slated to run instead on Friday, 1/2/09 at 10p Eastern Time), The New York Times blog, Motherload ran a great piece on the film...the comments, while certainly not all positive, mean that people are talking. Please lend your voice to the conversation, if you are so moved.
Here's the NYT piece, but be sure to check the comments - some are right on, some are funny & some are just sad...

First thing next month (Friday January 2) will be the primetime debut of a film that has been making the “under the radar” rounds of women and film festivals since May. ABC’s 20/20 will air the documentary “Orgasmic Birth”, by Debra Pascali-Bonaro, a childbirth educator and a doula, which asks the question: What would happen if women were taught to enjoy birth rather than endure it?

Some women will see this film as a declaration of emancipation from the medicalization of childbirth. Others will see it as yet one more way to raise expectations and make new mothers feel inadequate if they do not experience the “ideal” birth.

The message of the film is “that women can journey through labor and birth in all different ways. And there are a lot more options out there, to make this a positive and pleasurable experience,” Pascali-Bonaro tells ABC. “I hope women watching and men watching don’t feel that what we’re saying is every woman should have an orgasmic birth.”

But the title certainly catches attention, referring to what Pascali-Bonaro calls “the best kept secret” of child birth – that some women report having an orgasm as the baby exits the birth canal.

Tamra Larter experienced that while Pascali-Bonaro’s cameras were rolling. She and her husband, Simon, opted to have their second child in their suburban New Jersey home, and through most of the hours of labor the couple was kissing and caressing.

“The phyical touch and nurturing was just really comforting to me,” Larter told ABC. Of the orgasmic birth that resulted she said: “It was happening, and I could hardly breathe, and it was like, ‘oh, that feels good.’ That’s all I could say really.”

Christine Northrup, an OB-GYN and author of “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom” explains in the film that orgasms during labor are the results of chemistry and anatomy: “When the baby’s coming down the birth canal, remember, it’s going through the exact same positions as something going in, the penis going into the vagina, to cause an orgasm. And labor itself is associated with a huge hormonal change in the body, way more prolactin, way more oxytocin, way more beta-endorphins — these are the molecules of ecstasy.”

And on that note I open up the comments for your thoughts …

Orgasmic Birth on 20/20

A note from Orgasmic Birth - be sure to check out the link to the article on ABC's site!:

Dear Friends,
Please help us share our news...

Orgasmic Birth will be a featured segment on ABC-TV's "20/20" this Friday December 12, at 10 PM Eastern Time

Visit the ABC website to read more about Orgasmic Birth and share your comments on the film. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6120045&page=1

Joyous, sensuous and revolutionary, Orgasmic Birth brings the ultimate challenge to our cultural myths by inviting viewers to see the emotional, spiritual, and physical heights attainable through birth. Witness the passion as birth is revealed as an integral part of woman's sexuality and a neglected human right. With commentary by Christiane Northrup, MD, and midwives Ina May Gaskin, Elizabeth Davis and other experts in the field . . . and stunning moments of women in the ecstatic release of childbirth.

natural birth in the news

A story in today's NJ Star Ledger talks about the films, Orgasmic Birth and The Business of Being Born, the play, Birth, midwives, the Anna Verwaal seminar we had recently and more...

Birth By The Numbers

I'm just back from the wonderful all day/evening event which included a screening of the documentary by Debra Pascali-Bonaro, Orgasmic Birth. On the website for the film is a compelling DVD extra which crunches the numbers of birth statistics...well worth watching: here
The DVD is now available for purchase.

check it!

Conception, Pregnancy & Birth the journey that shapes our lives
with Anna Verwaal, RN, CLE, Doula

When: Sunday, October 12th, 9am-5pm

Where: SOPAC (South Orange Performing Arts Center), One Sopac Way in South Orange. Coming from NYC? Take a train 25 minutes DIRECT from Penn Station NYC to South Orange Station--SOPAC is located just adjacent to the station. www.njtransit.com

Cost: $175 individual, $300 partner rate - bring a friend, partner or colleague and receive a discount!

Half Day Option: $90 for am (9-12:30) or pm (1:30-5) session - includes free screening of "Orgasmic Birth"

To register: call 973-763-2288 send an email or pay online at Shakti
For more info: call Gayle Lemke at 917-750-0516 or send her an email

can birth be orgasmic?

Yup! If you're local, come to SOPAC tomorrow & see for yourself:

The MotherHood & shakti ma PRESENT

This Sunday, October 12 at 6:30 pm

THE PREMIERE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY NEW FILM

Orgasmic Birth

a documentary film by debra pascali-bonaro

What would happen if women were taught

to enjoy birth — rather than endure it?

In answering that question, Orgasmic Birth poses the ultimate challenge to our cultural myths. Filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro reveals a revolutionary approach to birth that is statistically safer and healthier for both mother and child than the birthing and delivery methods that are standard in many parts of the world today. The viewer becomes an intimate part of the birth stories of eleven women who said YES! to this journey.

When: Sunday, October 12, 6:30 pm

Where: South Orange Performing Arts

Center, One Sopac Way

South Orange, NJ

Cost: $20 advance / $25 door

Shakti Ma

Gayle Lemke, Director

Yoga, Wisdom & Ritual for

the Childbearing Year & Beyond

Studio: 973-763-2288

Cell: 917-750-0516

gayle@shaktinj.com

AMERICAN WOMAN PUBLISHING LLC / THEMOTHERHOOD@COMCAST.NET

nice turn out

Good to see all the ladies who came out to the birth open house today at Shakti. It was cool to meet these (obviously self-selecting) women where are open to change or doing what it might take to have the births they want.
And the chocolate truffles by a local chocolatier, (Nadine Kerstan/Chocolate Polka Dot) on which Gayle Lemke (director of Shakti Ma) and I collaborated were fantastic! Remember, chocolate helps get the oxytocin flowing!

For more of those truffles and more empowering information on birth, don't forget to save the date & register for the October 12th event we are doing at SOPAC: "Conception, Pregnancy & Birth ...the journey that shapes our lives", with screenings of Orgasmic Birth & The Business of Being Born, and what promises to be a mind-blowing seminar with Anna Verwaal.

Scroll down to the bottom of this blog page to see all the details.