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The Business of Being Born

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Director Abby Epstein's controversial documentary takes a hard look at America's maternity care system, juxtaposing hospital deliveries against the growing popularity of at-home, natural childbirths that some expectant parents are opting for. Former talk show host Ricki Lake was inspired to produce this compelling exposé after a dissatisfying birthing experience with her first child left her with many unanswered questions.
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Netflix Rating: 4.0
Rotten Tomatoes: Fresh 80%: Consensus: Epstein's argument in favor of home birthing is certainly biased -- but its biases are so transparent, and so impassioned, that they work in the film's favor.
Fresh: 20 Rotten: 5 Rotten Tomatoes page
Top Rotten Tomatoes Critics: Former talk show host Ricki Lake had her first baby in a hospital and came away with the need for a birth experience that was more empowering, with less medical intervention. full review

Maureen M. Hart, Chicago Tribune

"The Business of Being Born" is messy and amateurish but heartfelt and compelling. full review

Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times

A powerful, frightening look at America's delivery room that makes a strong case for natural childbirth overseen by experienced midwives rather than by surgery-prone doctors. full review

Tamara Straus, San Francisco Chronicle

Pregnant women -- and involved dads -- would be well advised to check out this provocative portrait. full review

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

[It's] so selective in its presentation of information that it makes Michael Moore look like a fat lady in a blindfold holding a pair of scales. full review

Dana Stevens, Slate

Passionate, enlightening and unabashedly one-sided, Abby Epstein's documentary is not for everyone. But at the very least, it should be seen by every pregnant woman in America. full review

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News

The Business of Being Born is not overtly political. Its feminism is palpable but unspoken. full review

Stephen Holden, New York Times

[Director] Epstein's opinion on the issue is never in doubt and once the attitude of the film is established, it seems to make the same points repeatedly. Fortunately, Epstein herself gets pregnant, and she gets to test her own theories. full review

John Anderson, Newsday

No one, male or female, pregnant or childless, who sees The Business of Being Born will ever see the hospital maternity ward as a normal environment again. full review

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

Epstein and Lake have crafted an absorbing, thought-provoking inquiry into what modern birth has become and how to make it better. full review

Julia Wallace, Village Voice