Let’s stop saying ‘all that matters is a healthy baby’

What would it take for women to emerge from their births physically well AND emotionally safe?

This is the question actress and activist Zoe Naylor, along with doula Jerusha Sutton and midwife Jo Hunter pose in their documentary Birth Time.

Following a traumatic experience after her first birth to which she described herself as “uneducated and underprepared” and instead, she went in with blind faith in the system.  Zoe went on to have a completely different experience second-time-around under the care of Jo as her midwife and Jerusha her doula.

And so the idea for Birth Time was born.

The ladies embarked on a journey around Australia to investigate the state of our county’s birthing system, speaking with mothers and partner’s who experienced birth trauma as well as experts in the field of midwifery and obstetrics.

One-third of Australian mothers describe their birth as being traumatic, with the most common reasons listed as care provider actions and coercion, not being listened to, violation and feeling out of control.

“We’re trying to shift the idea that people often refer to birth and say that all that matters is a healthy baby,” says Jerusha. “That has been the story that’s been driven into us for decades.”

“And it’s really not the case, the importance of the woman’s experience and the partner’s experience is absolutely valid. So to shift the focus onto not just the physical well being but on to emotional well being as well.”

Pair this with alarmingly high rates of intervention and what they found was a system that is broken and mother’s who are being let down.

“This is the main driver of why we started making this film,” adds Jerusha. “Looking at, you know, how we can get more women with both of those things coming out of birth feeling amazing feeling held feeling fulfilled, both emotionally and physically.”

For more information on the documentary, where to watch it and how to get involved in the movement head to BirthTime.World. You can also follow their journey @birthtimeworld on Instagram.

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