WATCH: Ricki Lake's 'More Business Of Being Born'

After the groundbreaking success of her 2008 film 'The Business Of Being Born,' Ricki Lake is continuing her exploration of the birthing process with a new four-part documentary called 'More Business Of Being Born.'

The Huffington Post in conjunction with BabyCenter will host an online screening of 'Special Deliveries: Celebrity Mothers Talk Straight Talk on Birth' -- part two of the 'More Business Of Being Born' series. The screening will take place on The Huffington Post's Global Motherhood and Parents sections on March 5 at 9 pm EST (6 pm PST). The 70-minute film will be followed by a live Q&A chat with Lake, filmmaker Abby Epstein and actress Kellie Martin. You can watch the film on this page as well as on Ricki's exclusive blog post about the film. The chat module will also be hosted on both pages.

'Special Deliveries: Celebrity Mothers Talk Straight Talk on Birth' is an incredibly intimate collection of birth stories, featuring Alanis Morissette, Laila Ali, Gisele Bundchen, Christy Turlington-Burns and Alyson Hannigan among others. The film celebrates the birth choices of these women -- whether at home, hospital or birthing center -- and serves as a reminder of the power of the childbearing experience.

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Streaming video by Ustream

CHAT:

Comments

[missv21]

12:45 PM on 03/06/2012

cont'd. The comments making this sound like a rich people's luxury actually illustrate the point that a respectful, empowering birth itself is not seen as an important right. It is, and we should be giving it to all.

When a woman is becoming a mother, she needs to be mothered herself by her caregivers and not made to feel inhuman, exposed, timed with a stop watch and not apart of her birth process. The respect we show for women in the birth process, their newborn infants and beyond is a window into how we value mothers, parenting, children, etc... A strong woman, who believes in herself is a better mother for her child, for her community and for all. The pregnancy, labor and birth process and post natal care are vital to setting up all new parents on the right foot regardless of how much money you have or what race you are.

[PhoenixLady]

02:23 PM on 03/13/2012

I think you are right about taking care of women, mothers. Having been through the pregnancy, child birth and the whole shebang three times I can honestly say I really think that women are not even nearly enough credit or autonomy when it comes to any of that. Especially if we choose not to be mothers. We can do nothing right. There is always a long line of people waiting to judge your every decisions....continued

[PhoenixLady]

02:24 PM on 03/13/2012

part 3 (sorry) I for one am tired of people talking to women as if they are bratty, know-nothing children. How can we be "strong women" when society is telling us how wrong we are every step of the way? The obstacles to empowerment start long before we become pregnant. Perhaps if we addressed them sooner there would end up being more support and positive outcomes when we do come to the point of motherhood.

[missv21]

12:44 PM on 03/06/2012

These comments attempting to break down birth by racial or socioeconomic standards both sadly miss the point, and create a lot of white noise having nothing to do with Ricki Lake (and others) efforts to shed light about birth in this country. There is an actual problem with the way ALL women are treated with respect to their prenatal, birth and post-natal care. Pregnant mothers of all races and financial means are not empowered to believe in their bodies, their intrinsic knowledge of mothering and birthing, and are not given appropriate attention by their providers. Unnecessary interventions in low-risk pregnancies cause 15 year old birthing mothers, and 35 year old birthing mothers the same pain, disconnect from their newborns and confusion about what just happened to them - which extends beyond the hours of labor, including increased instances of depression and lack of ability to bond with their infant. These comments in no way mean there are not times and places for c-sections, episiotomies, and pitocin. There are. However, respect needs to be given for the biological process that has carried us for millions of years. It is a delicate balance - mother and child bond from smelling one another, babies have higher concentrations of much needed iron when their embilical cord isn't cut instantly, the list goes on. Why can't we as a society strive to give all mothers the best care possible during this time?

[at4085]

09:36 PM on 03/05/2012

Awesome. So you're telling me that rich ladies with all the resources in the world at their finger tips can have the birth experiences they've always dreamed of. How nice for them.

[Shoffstall]

10:01 PM on 03/05/2012

You don't have to be rich. My wife had our daughter at home in the environment she wanted for cheaper than it would have been for us at the hospital. You just have to research and now your options.

[at4085]

10:12 PM on 03/05/2012

That is wonderful for your wife, and she is fortunate to have a supportive partner. There are still a lot of women in this country who don't have options due to financial, environmental or social barriers. My point is that if Ricki Lake is trying to make some larger argument about the state of childbirth, she would do well to talk to people who maybe don't have all the time and money in the world to focus on themselves.

[Antidiot]

12:14 PM on 03/07/2012

And so can poor women with limited resources. It is up to the individual. I had home births back when we were very poor. Knowledge, and good health that make a lot more difference than economic issues..

[cmejds70]

09:29 PM on 03/05/2012

Come to the inner city Ricki and friends. Come watch the teen moms and the women in poverty give birth. Watch them leave the hospital, see how they so easily and proudly they raise/feed/care for their (child)ren. Can HP stop promoting this. Another example of how out of touch this country is becoming. Discuss child birth with european countries, where they have to give birth at home and have to wait until dire circumstances to go to hospital. American is so out of touch and so about their insular little worlds. Another example... Watch 60 minutes from last night and see how the well to do have choices on "redshirting" their children, oh and let's not forget homeschooling. Keep up the great divide Ricki.... and friends!

[Andrew Elias]

10:00 PM on 03/05/2012

We're not wealthy, by any stretch, but after watching the 2008 movie, we're planning on having our first child at home in August. It was eye opening, to say the least. This isn't about wealthy moms having kids, it's about moms having kids. A vagina functions the same, regardless of the wallet in the pocket nearby. I don't care who she interviews, I'd watch merely because she picks good stories to put on camera.

I think the problem you're having with it is one of drama. when people make a documentary, the idea is to tell a story that hasn't been done to death. We already know the story of Sh'Uniqe'a Jenkins from Detroit and her seven kids struggling to get by. Everybody knows that story. Quite frankly, some of us are sick of hearing it. I'm sorry she's a victim of the Abstinence First education system. Some of us learn how to regulate reproduction on our own and are able to have sex for decades without popping out kids left and right. Some of us wait until we can have kids without being put into poverty for it. Some of us would like to hear uplifting stories of motherhood, by mothers who aren't made to believe they've just ruined their lives. If there's any of those stories in the inner city, I'd love to hear them.

[Amanda Hout Howell]

10:43 PM on 03/05/2012

Did you intend for that to be racist, or was it by accident?

[Antidiot]

12:21 PM on 03/07/2012

My daughter's husband's cousin is from the inner city and is poor and is 17 years old and just had a beautiful all natural waterbirth at a birth center. She knew about it because of my daughter and I and because of Gisele. Medicaid covers it completely (it is actually much less expensive for them to do that).Motherhood is one thing that spans all social and economic groups.

[Rozanna]

09:19 PM on 03/05/2012

More ways for celebrities to shine a light on..... THEMSELVES. No thanks. I don't want to hear your intimate birth stories.

[Mr Me]

11:46 AM on 03/03/2012

Since Lake doesn't cater to the white community, I'm sure it's for blacks only?

[MeghanR]

09:20 PM on 03/05/2012

What a ridiculous and racist comment.

[rabit818]

10:17 PM on 03/05/2012

So juvenile.