The DVD follows the development of the Farm in Summertown, TN and the growth of Ina May Gaskin and other midwives at the Farm. It combines contemporary footage of Ina May's work as a midwife, wife, and globe-trotting activist with amazing archival footage of life and births at the Farm.
I knew a lot about the history behind Ina May and the Farm, yet I learned so much from watching this. I loved watching the "old" births back in the early days of the Farm. So much hair everywhere! Huge beards, waist-long braids, and of course body hair :)
The movie closed with a lovely modern-day birth attended by Ina May and another younger midwife from The Farm. I watched the mama push our her baby in the tub, almost exactly as I did with my last three children, and remembered all over again the sensations of birth. It made me want to do it all over again.
The DVD is available for $19.95. You can also access it online and as a HD download for $12.99. If you buy the online version for any amount over $13.99, you will receive extra bonus content!
I'm thrilled to offer a giveaway of this DVD to any North American resident! If you'd like to enter, leave a comment below. If you've already seen the film, please share your impressions and reactions. If not, tell me why you'd like to see it. Be sure to leave contact info in case you are the winner.
Giveaway ends Friday, June 14 at 5 pm EST.
I'd love to see this film! Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI'd love this! Just found out we are expecting #4. Hoping to make it my second home birth : )
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get a copy of this! I ready Spiritual Midwifery voraciously while pregnant with my first. I ended up with a hospital birth and an epidural, but I loved (and still love) the message of The Farm!
ReplyDeleteI would love it! I've read several of her books and saw her interview with Ricki lake
ReplyDeleteMy friends and I were just talking about how we want to have a viewing party to watch this film! Most of us come with a research or professional interest, but certainly personal as well. Some of us have given birth, some are currently pregnant, and some know that they want to sometime in the future. I gave birth at a hospital, another of us at a free-standing birth center, and another says her dream birth would be at The Farm (but in reality ideally a home birth). We all love discussing the challenges and nuances of giving birth, and would love a glimpse into a generation before ours to add to our discussions.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to watch this one for awhile. Ina May is such an interesting person who has had an incredible amount of influence.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see this movie! I am pregnant with my third and planning another homebirth.
ReplyDeleteI have been reallly wanting to finally get my eyes on this film. I missed the local showing, and it would be a dream to own my own copy! What a generous opportunity!
ReplyDeletekaela.m.williams@gmail.com
I would also love to see this film! I'm beginning doula certification and this would be a great addition to my training :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this film! I think that the Farm and the Gaskins really embody a lot of what we're missing in contemporary American birth.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this! Reading her books during my pregnancy made me feel so at ease with what was going to happen, can't wait to do it again in a few months :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this movie! I'm planning my fifth med-free hospital birth this October, and my favorite way to psych myself up is to read/watch positive, affirming natural childbirth books/films. I also just finished reading "Birth Matters" by Ina May Gaskin and thought it was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to add this to my La Leche League library! (By the way, Rixa, I couldn't help but laugh at your comment about the hair in the older births. I remember having the same thought when I read spiritual midwifery.)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amber-hinds.com
Ina May's books were my birth class, essentially, so I'd love to see this movie!
ReplyDeleteI'm a midwife and was planning to go see this film when it was in town, but I was on-call and got paged to a birth! yay!
ReplyDeleteameliadotdoranatgmaildotcom
I would love to see this. I have read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and am currently reading Birth Matters. I just assisted a friend through her first natural birth and it was a great experience.
ReplyDelete(I hope this isn't a duplicate, I had trouble commenting)
ReplyDeleteI would love this! I had my babies at home and I would love to be a midwife someday. I enjoy learning more about birth and the homebirth movement
Ooh, I would love to see this. Thanks for the giveaway!!! janiesandberg at gmail
ReplyDeleteThis was a heartwarming film. I enjoyed it very much. As I already own the digital copy, I'd donate the DVD to my ICAN chapter's lending library. Thanks for the chance! jendevries at me dot com
ReplyDeleteWow, I have read and been inspired by so many of Ina's books! Would love to see / own this DVD. Thank you for hosting this giveaway! (catie dot L dot bereznay at gmail dot com)
ReplyDeleteIna May was my first true introduction to natural childbirth. When I signed up for Bradley Birth classes (a friend went through them and suggested them over Lamaze - my only other option where I was living), Ina May's Guide to Childbirth was one of the required texts from my teacher. I fell in love. I knew that even though my child would be born in a hospital (homebirth was illegal for the attendant in that state, and my husband was uncomfortable asking someone to risk their freedom for us), I could totally bring a child into the world without all the bells and whistles the hospital wanted to offer if all these women could do so in a little commune with "just" the support of other moms. Thankfully, I had a doctor who totally agreed with me.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see this movie!
I've seen several trailers of this online and would love to see and own it! I've read parts of Ina May's books and am intrigued by the idea of The Farm and of course I love me some good birthing movies!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely on my "must see" list of videos!!
ReplyDeleteWow. I'd love to watch this. If for nothing else than to psych myself up for birthing baby #3 in October!
ReplyDeleteI would be delighted to own a copy! Since I became pregnant with my son two years ago, I've enjoyed learning everything I can about pregnancy and birth.
ReplyDeleteI would live to see (and own) this film! I prefer delivering with midwives, but now that we live in Newfoundland, where midwifery is outlawed, I'm not sure how we'll deliver any future children.
ReplyDeleteI've not seen it, but I would love to. Birth is so important to a culture. We tend to forget that in our society.
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ReplyDeletePlease enter me in the giveaway! I'd love to see this, been researching all I can get my hands on about natural birth in preparation for being a new mom someday soon God-willing, and been wanting to see this documentary! Contact info is al7amdulilahswt(at)hotmail(dot)fr (.fr not .com, but I'm in the U.S., not France).
ReplyDeleteFell in love with Ina May...after...my son was birthed in the hospital....I TRIED AND SPOKE MY TRUTH to husband that I wanted a homebirth/birthcenter....what an ignorant jerk!
ReplyDeletePoint is my son and I have been watching many birth DVDs and I am teaching my INTACT 16month old how to support and encourage homeh/waterbirth.....he will be an amazing ADVOCATE!
I'd love to see this video. I found Ina May's books so helpful while preparing for my first homebirth - loved reading the stories from the farm, they helped keep me calm and confident in my body and baby. I love her energy and the peaceful way she views birth - makes me happy!!
ReplyDeletekateandrew90@gmail.com
I absolutely loved this film! I rented it twice because I couldn't afford the DVD, but I want to watch it about ten more times, especially to prepare for my home birth in September. So inspiring and informative. I especially loved the footage of the breech and shoulder dystocia births.
ReplyDeleteSafroniabee@gmail.com
Ohoooo! I would absolutely love to win this! I love Ina May!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhh! I kind of may have just freaked out a tiny bit when I saw the email for this post in my inbox. >_> I have been wanting to see this with such a passion!!! So excited to see who wins! Thanks, Rixa!! :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to win this! I've read Ina May's books but didn't know there was a DVD out!
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting to find out if we have our 5th little one on the way... The first test was faintly positive (five days early) so I'm pretty sure that I am, but my husband wants me to retest once I'm actually "late". In the past 18 months since my last baby was born, I have discovered that I want to be a doula. That was confirmed when I perused the DONA reading list and realized that I had already read several of those books, just for fun! Ina May is such a pioneer and wise woman. I hope that more people, mothers, fathers and doctors will be willing to re-capture some of her ancient wisdom and make it our own
ReplyDeletei would really love to see this film
ReplyDeleteHello Rixa!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this film and will do I am sure. Still at work 33 weeks along and so looking forward to stop in about 4 weeks time!!!! I chose my midwives today - honeyduehomebirth - and feel a great since of relief. It gets crazy hot here in Austin and having my first at 45, it's going to be quite an adventure. I met a woman my age today at my midwives office who was having her 11th. She had the first 5 in hospital and the next 5 at home and mentioned just how different each birth is. Still looking forward to our meeting one day. All the best, Margo
I would love a copy of this film. I saw it back in November with my full-term pregnant friend and nursed my 5-month old baby throughout the film. The breech birth was so beautiful, it was definitely my favorite part. :O)
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this movie. I'm pregnant with #4 and we are planning our 3rd homebirth.
ReplyDeleteI saw this filmed screened at my public library. What a wonderful experience! It was so inspiring, and there were a lot of laughs and a few tears. I would love love love to own a copy!!!
ReplyDeleteI missed the local screening in my city, but heard many wonderful things! I have read all of Ina May's books and would really love to add this DVD to my pregnancy/birth lending library as well. 41 weeks pregnant with my first right now and planning a birth center water birth! smkyler@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI would love to win this! Thanks for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteHi! I would LOVE to see this! I went to The Farm last march for an midwife assisstant workshop and got to meet Ina May, Pamela, and all the midwives who are still in activity there. They are amazing women and I feel so privileged to have met them and learned from them. The film wasn't out yet when I went, so I didn't get the chance to see it. Thanks for the giveaway and have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteMy staff would love it! Or we might use it for the annual conference in our area.
ReplyDeleteI would absolutely LOVE to win this! I can already see myself convincing my husband to sit down and watch it with me! Thanks for all you do!
ReplyDeleteIna May is one of the strongest influences in my life as a mother sharing with other women, and as a doula professionally. What a wonderful giveaway, I'm so excited you are doing it!x
ReplyDeleteI've been blessed to visit The Farm and attend a workshop with those amazing women. I can't wait for a chance to see the documentary!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fantastic movie! I loved being able to witness a number of natural births in a nice calm environment!
ReplyDeletei would love love love to see this! ina may is my hero! i birthed with her voice in my head so much so that my midwife commented that "ina would be proud of you" and i have been growing my hair out since reading spiritual midwifery, inspired by all the naturalness. thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see it! We need more love and gentleness in the world... I love this reminder!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have the opportunity to see this film!
ReplyDeleteI would love to share this with others. I have a birth lending library for clients... thanks for the chance to spread the Ina May Gaskin love .....
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this!! Thanks for the chance!
ReplyDeleteAmy
ajh15@hotmail.com
Saw it. Loved it. Would be tickled pink to win it and show it to all my friends.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see the movie! I'm a big believer in homebirths, midwives, & empowered Mamas. Sunda sundateb@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a copy that I can blog about on my Birth Photography page and help spread the knowledge of bringing birth back!
ReplyDeleteThe first time I visited the farm was for a natural building workshop, but what I remember most was the midwivery school. I was amazed at the conscious, inclusive approach to birth that honored birth as a sacred event and did not mistake it for a crisis. It turned my world upside down and inside out, changing the course of my life. darinjoy@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI saw "The Business of being Born" and saw Ina May Gaskin speak about midwives and birthing naturally. I would love to see "A Birth Story" please enter me in the give away.
ReplyDeleteI became a midwife because of Spiritual Midwifery. The book literally changed my life. I can't wait to see this film~
ReplyDeleteI first read Ina May's book Spiritual Midwifery during the pregnancy of my first daughter 13 years ago. The wisdom and teaching in it encouraged me that I really could do this crazy homebirth thing I had decided to do, and that it wasn't really so crazy. I read the book many times over the next several years as I gave birth to two more daughters, and by the middle of my last pregnancy, I realized that reading the birth stories actually encouraged my BODY in the birth process, as I found my Braxton Hicks contractions growing stronger as I read them. I decided it would be wise to put off birth stories until it was close my due date. I started reading them again when my due date was a couple of weeks away, and a few days later, my water broke, and my baby was born 10 days early, a healthy 7 lbs 3 oz, in the most comfortable, easy labor of all three. I would LOVE to win this video, to pass on the wisdom of natural birth to my own girls.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this film. Ina May is such a trailblazer in returning midwifery to the childbirth conversation in our country.
ReplyDeleteJenn H.
I would love to see this film! I am currently expecting my 2nd child and reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I love learning about her ideas on childbirth...so profound! Please enter me in the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteLeigh C.
leigh0981@gmail.com
I haven't seen this but can't wait to! nicolel@catt.com
ReplyDeleteI would love to own a copy of Birth Story and wish libraries would include it in their collections! Ina May Gaskin, in her book Spiritual Midwifery, drew from the language of the sixties counterculture to transform the narrative of medical childbirth into one of natural and spiritual elation. Since then, childbirth professionals and parents have continued to inscribe new meanings for the childbearing. Ina May demonstrates that the work of childbirth can be an incredibly intense but also profoundly joyful experience. She reminds us that the same sense of wonder and the physiological and emotional bonds between couples that produced their baby are the very same feelings between them that will enable their child to emerge from the womb. Ina May observes the sense of personal power and agency that couples can achieve at the birth of their child and beyond. Yes, please consider me for this amazing gift!
ReplyDeleteI've adhered to Ina Mae's teachings and philosophy from my childbearing years to the present when I work as a Birth and Postpartum Doula. I would love to share Ina Mae's documentary with my local birthing community and beyond.
ReplyDeleteI am a new doula and am about to attend my first birth! I was so inspired by Spiritual Midwifery and I actually visited The Farm a few years ago. I would love to not only watch Birth Story for my own education but also to share with others. I live in a communal house in Brooklyn where we run events every month, including movie screenings and this would be a great film to share with our community!
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing this giveaway- what a great idea!
Warmly,
Ellie Lotan
ellielotan@gmail.com
I would very much like to see this film and learn what it has to offer. Ina Mae is an inspiration to every pregnant woman.
ReplyDeleteI love Ina May, and would love to see this documentary! I've been waiting for it to come out, but we have to leeway in the budget to get it right now. I can't wait to see it some day though -- reading Spiritual Midwifery when I was 18 helped shape my concept of pregnancy and birth...
ReplyDeleteI would love to own this! Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteExcited to see the film. Thank you for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this film! I am an aspiring midwife & Ina May is one of my role models. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see this film. Ina May is so inspirational. Because of her I wanted to be a homebirth midwife. Plans changed when I got my first nursing job as a student nurse and now I work in a NICU and love being with the babies. I'm having a homebirth and due in 3 weeks with my first baby. I've read everything I can find by Ina May and can't wait to visit The Farm one day.
ReplyDeletechelseysmithrn@gmail.com
Opening up a new birth center in CO. Would love to have this video to share with my community!
ReplyDeleteWould love to see the movie! I'm 32 weeks pregnant and I really want nothing more than to have a hospital free birth! Unfortunately, that won't happen this time, since it's my first. But I really want to labor mostly at home before going to the hospital. The idea of homebirth, doulas, midwives etc etc becomes more passionate as I continue to read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and as I hear more about the movie! I can't wait to see it someday. Thanks for the opportunity!
ReplyDeletebroken.veil@gmail.com
Can't wait to see this film!
ReplyDeleteWould love to see this.
ReplyDeleteI would so love to see this. It had had two showings in the area and i was so bummed that i couldn't see either. Thank though for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to see this! I am pregnant with my 3rd baby and I love continuing to learn about natural birth.
ReplyDeleteI love birth and look up to Ina May! So I would love to see this film.
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