Birth Time: The Documentary
In February 2021, Birth Time: The Documentary, launched across Australia posing a question about why birth trauma is so rampant among women.
What would it take for women to emerge from their births physically well and emotionally safe?
Birth Time: The Documentary shines a light on what’s really happening in our maternity system, how we can find an answer and how we can effect change for all women.
Exposing the truth around Birth
Three women, Jerusha Sutton – a doula and birth photographer, independent midwife Jo Hunter and actress Zoe Naylor, embarked on a mission to find out why an increasing number of women are emerging from their births physically and emotionally traumatised.
Their discoveries have exposed the truth to our flawed maternity system and lead them to join the birth revolution, forging a movement that hopes to change the face of maternity care in Australia and across the developed world.
This journey, became Birth Time, a documentary that evolved into a movement about changing the current politics, practice and funding of maternity care across the developed world.
Birth Time is an education resource and hub, that aims to:
- shine a light on our current maternity system
- educate women and pregnant people about different maternity services that are available to them,
- for them to understand they have a choice,
- and to share information about new and evolving midwifery models of care.
The team behind Birth Time hope to educate, inspire and motivate young women, pregnant women and people, mothers, partners, grandparents, family, birth workers, midwives, doctors, policy makers, politicians, organisations and corporations to be the voice for change.
But why?
Jerusha, Jo and Zoe share their why at birthtime.world.
It was clear from their research that our maternity system is broken.
The team bore witness to a postnatal depression epidemic, with suicide being the leading cause of maternal death in the developed world.
Birth trauma is rampant.
The incredibly high intervention rates in birth are not leading to better outcomes for mothers and babies.
Globally, we are losing connection and trust in one of the most transformative, powerful, primal and pivotal rites of passage we will ever undertake in our lives.
We live in a time where it has become normal to disregard the importance of a woman’s experience of birth. It is not widely known that our birth and birthing experiences deeply impact the way we navigate the world.
Improving women’s experience of birth helps them set up a stronger bond with their babies, decreases their risk of postnatal depression and encourages them to trust their maternal instincts when it comes to mothering their children. Care, connection, respect and trust begin with the mother baby bond.
This documentary was made as a catalyst to educate, motivate action and instigate change.
Because when we improve women’s experiences around birth, we change the world!
See Birth Time: The Documentary
The Birth Time team are travelling around Australia from 11 February to 9 March, 2021 to attend 14 special event ‘Premiere Q&A Screenings.’
Then ‘General Cinema Screenings’ around Australia (without the team) will be available from 10 March.
In South Australia
Wednesday 10 March, 6:30pm: Wallis Cinema Noarlunga, Palace Nova East End, Wallis Piccadilly
Monday 29 March, 6:30pm: Wallis Piccadilly
Monday 29 March, 10:00am: Event Cinemas Marion
Wednesday 12 May, 6:30pm: Victa Cinema, Victor Harbor
For tickets:
au.demand.film/birth-time-documentary
See the Birth Time Trailer:
For more information about Birth Time:
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