The Mama Sherpas 2015
Distributed by Bond/360, 42 Bond Street, Third Floor, New York, NY 10012 212.354.2650
Produced by Tiny Leaps Productions, Black Salt Productions, BOBB Films
Directed by Brigid Maher
DVD, color, 76 min.
General Adult
Childbirth, Midwifery
Date Entered: 12/14/2015
Reviewed by Sandy Costanza D’Youville College, Buffalo, NYObstetrician, midwife, home birth, hospital birth, breast feeding, bottle feeding, vaginal birth, cesarean section, VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) so many options which way do you turn? Is each option right for every woman? Well the answer to that question is of course not! Every pregnancy and every woman is different. What is comfortable and appropriate to one situation may not be in the best interest of the mother and or baby in another instance.
Mama Sherpas is the journey of a midwifery program collaborating with an obstetrical practice to provide the best options for both mother and baby. Collaboration in the medical field is always a positive direction. The goal is to provide an affirmative birth experience for all involved.
While the film describes this collaboration in some detail it falls short in providing a plan for developing a collaborative practice. Several women were interviewed and looking for the VBAC option to a subsequent pregnancy. In addition a breech birth was shown with a positive outcome for both mother and baby. Such is not always the case and it seems somewhat irresponsible on the part of this film to portray a happily ever after for all involved.
The film is too long, self-serving and seems very biased towards every woman using a midwife, every woman avoiding a cesarean section and every woman breastfeeding their baby, when in reality every woman and every situation must be individually evaluated. Are midwives and breastfeeding a good thing? Absolutely, but so are obstetricians, bottle feeding and cesarean sections.