Educational Media Reviews Online

An introduction to the role and career of midwives, A Good Birth is suitable as a supplemental film for college library collections supporting beginning nursing programs. It spotlights the border area of the Rio Grande Valley, and profiles midwives and mothers who work with midwives through their pregnancy and delivery, using their first hand testimony as narrative.

In this March of Dimes funded program, five women showcase the variety of situations that midwives are trained to handle, stressing the warm, loving care they bring to the birth process. While normal, healthy pregnancies may make up the bulk of a midwife’s cases, they are trained to deal with high-risk patients as well. The emphasis on education and empowerment they bring to their patients adds another dimension often lacking in typical ob/gyn practices. A nice plus for this film is its focus on lower and middle class women who elect to use midwives. While not detailed enough for midwifery programs, A Good Birth will fill in collections supporting classroom introductions to the nurse-midwife role in health care delivery, as well as collections supporting career counseling.