Birth Day

With Naoli Vinaver Lopez and Family

VHS, Approx. 10 minutes long, A Sage Femme Production, Available in English and Spanish.
Please note: Video tape no longer available. Currently available only in DVD format. Read review of Extended Edition. Check our online store for availability.

We at Midwifery Today have had the great privilege of knowing and working with Naolí Vinaver both at our conferences and through the articles she has penned for us. A strong and loving woman, she has been kind enough to share, on videotape, some of her most intimate moments in the birth of her third child, Tamaya.

Naolí's birth takes place at home with her husband and two children in Xalapa, Mexico, and is beautifully documented by Naolí's father. The result is a very touching and intimate account of natural birth, waterbirth and close family dynamics. The love and support Naolí receives give her the courage to labor uninhibited. We see her walk amongst nature with her family while in early labor. She moves into a stronger phase during a happy lunch, and is soothed in hard labor in the magnificently tiled pool her husband made for her. Her children are present to receive their sister and be part of the process. Naolí gives birth to her baby and gives this baby's birth to her family. Naolí's openness as a daughter, mother, wife and midwife are clearly evident.

Anyone planning to have a baby should see this video to gain understanding of the true meaning of birth. Every practitioner should witness the potential power and beauty of uninterrupted birth that this video reveals. Its simple beauty strongly confirms what midwives know and want to preserve. It also chronicles a mother's journey, and empowers and inspires all women toward good birth.

This review was written by midwife Jill Cohen, associate editor at Midwifery Today.