1
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,881
What do you think
I should put on it?

2
00:00:16,881 --> 00:00:20,961
 I think the best crepes are
and always will be sugar crepes.

3
00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:25,481
 In my opinion.

4
00:00:25,921 --> 00:00:29,921
 We'll probably need chaperone
parents at the pool.

5
00:00:30,481 --> 00:00:32,201
 Well yes, but on Friday...

6
00:00:32,641 --> 00:00:36,361
 But I told them that you could
perhaps come on Friday.

7
00:00:39,801 --> 00:00:41,560
 Is she Valerie?

8
00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,801
 Hello? Yes.

9
00:00:48,801 --> 00:00:53,601
 Ok, I'm ready to leave,

10
00:00:53,881 --> 00:00:56,001
 I'm on my way. Ok?

11
00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,081
 I need about 20 minutes
to get to your place.

12
00:00:59,361 --> 00:01:02,001
 In all it should take me
about half an hour.

13
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:04,081
 All right?

14
00:01:04,361 --> 00:01:06,081
 See you in a bit then.

15
00:01:07,121 --> 00:01:09,280
 Who is it?
-Did you hear, Tim?

16
00:01:09,561 --> 00:01:12,161
 Mummy's going to the birth.
-I keep you posted.

17
00:01:12,401 --> 00:01:14,641
 I'll call you when
she's given birth,

18
00:01:14,881 --> 00:01:17,321
 because knowing her I think
it'll be pretty quick.

19
00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,121
 If it's 5 a.m send me
a text message.

20
00:01:21,401 --> 00:01:24,321
 No I won't call you, but I think
it might be before midnight.

21
00:01:25,761 --> 00:01:28,681
 All right, see you
tomorrow morning kids! Kisses!

22
00:01:29,601 --> 00:01:31,361
 Kisses, when will you be back?

23
00:01:31,681 --> 00:01:35,401
 I'll be back soon.
You'll be sleeping already. All right?

24
00:01:57,841 --> 00:02:01,600
 Enjoy it while it's quiet,
enjoy the quietness...

25
00:02:23,081 --> 00:02:24,440
 Great.

26
00:02:44,241 --> 00:02:47,401
 IN THEIR HANDS

27
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,081
 So you're not immunized against
toxoplasmosis, are you?

28
00:02:57,361 --> 00:03:00,120
 No I'm not.  -So you know
what that means don't you?

29
00:03:00,841 --> 00:03:03,440
 I know! I can't touch
the cat's litter box,

30
00:03:03,921 --> 00:03:06,000
 and I need to wear
gloves in the garden.

31
00:03:07,801 --> 00:03:11,361
 Did you talk with your family
about your plan to give birth at home?

32
00:03:11,761 --> 00:03:14,201
 Or with your friends, maybe?
- Not yet.

33
00:03:14,601 --> 00:03:16,721
 That's one of my questions actually:
how to announce it?

34
00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,401
 I fear very negative reactions
such as "Are you crazy?

35
00:03:20,801 --> 00:03:24,161
 You must be out of your mind,
imagine, anything could happen!"

36
00:03:25,041 --> 00:03:30,120
 And then people'll scare us and
make us worry more than anything.

37
00:03:31,601 --> 00:03:36,281
 Well it is a possible reaction.
-For sure, people will make us doubt.

38
00:03:37,801 --> 00:03:39,281
 Mummy, he's moving.

39
00:03:42,401 --> 00:03:44,000
 Who is?
-The baby.

40
00:03:44,401 --> 00:03:45,440
 It's baby?

41
00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:49,161
 Oh yes, it must be baby.

42
00:03:50,481 --> 00:03:51,881
 He sure is kicking!

43
00:03:59,001 --> 00:04:00,081
 Great.

44
00:04:01,801 --> 00:04:04,881
 So I told Joseph: "Starting
mid-December, don't move,

45
00:04:05,201 --> 00:04:07,241
 stay put, keep your phone."

46
00:04:08,241 --> 00:04:10,961
 I sent him your number:
"Save it in your contacts."

47
00:04:12,481 --> 00:04:14,121
 Tattoo it on your arm.

48
00:04:14,841 --> 00:04:17,361
 Do you want me to listen
to your heart? No?

49
00:04:34,481 --> 00:04:36,801
 First of all, not
all babies cry at birth.

50
00:04:37,121 --> 00:04:38,561
 And it's not a bad sign.

51
00:04:38,921 --> 00:04:42,201
 Some babies are born very calm
and they're fine.

52
00:04:43,401 --> 00:04:45,961
 Some scream as soon as
they come out,

53
00:04:46,361 --> 00:04:48,841
 and some don't cry at all.

54
00:04:50,521 --> 00:04:53,361
 But they're ok, nonetheless.

55
00:04:53,721 --> 00:04:56,961
 Often, especially
with the first child,

56
00:04:57,361 --> 00:05:03,121
 the only deliveries you've seen
are from the TV.

57
00:05:03,521 --> 00:05:07,721
 They often seem sudden
and alarming:

58
00:05:08,121 --> 00:05:11,921
 waters break, women scream,

59
00:05:12,321 --> 00:05:14,601
 and within 15' the baby is born.

60
00:05:15,001 --> 00:05:18,601
 Which isn't the case
at all, in reality.

61
00:05:43,641 --> 00:05:46,201
 We're two trainers.

62
00:05:46,801 --> 00:05:51,401
 do we instruct or deconstruct?
You can judge for yourself at the end.

63
00:05:54,281 --> 00:05:57,201
 My name is Jacqueline Lavilloniere,
I forgot to mention it.

64
00:05:58,121 --> 00:06:01,961
 I left Paris in the 70's,
it's been a while,

65
00:06:02,481 --> 00:06:05,961
 to do something else than
midwifery because I was revolted

66
00:06:06,361 --> 00:06:10,041
 by what was happening in
the hospital I was working at.

67
00:06:10,441 --> 00:06:14,401
 I started getting requests for home
births and I've never stopped since.

68
00:06:14,801 --> 00:06:17,241
 The latest newborn
is less than 24 hours old.

69
00:06:18,401 --> 00:06:21,041
 You have the floor.
We can start with whoever.

70
00:06:21,761 --> 00:06:25,241
 I work in a clinic,
so it's not very easy.

71
00:06:26,561 --> 00:06:29,721
 I was able to do
deliveries in various positions

72
00:06:29,961 --> 00:06:32,361
 but that was
already extraordinary.

73
00:06:32,761 --> 00:06:36,881
 It wasn't always
well accepted by the team.

74
00:06:37,681 --> 00:06:40,441
 I graduated in 2008,
so I'm a young graduate.

75
00:06:42,121 --> 00:06:44,361
 During my studies, well...

76
00:06:44,761 --> 00:06:47,521
 Basically, on natural childbirth,
we had two hours.

77
00:06:50,641 --> 00:06:52,121
 with a handout.

78
00:06:52,521 --> 00:06:56,721
 I've been a midwife
for 27 years now.

79
00:06:57,841 --> 00:07:02,081
 I worked in a small maternity
ward in Chaland for 17 years

80
00:07:02,481 --> 00:07:05,121
 and did some time
in the Sables d'Olonne.

81
00:07:05,521 --> 00:07:08,361
 In the Sables, it was
the last straw. So I left.

82
00:07:08,761 --> 00:07:12,361
 what is being done to women
in the large hospitals today

83
00:07:12,761 --> 00:07:16,961
 is disrespectful to women, to children,
to humans beings. So here I am.

84
00:07:35,321 --> 00:07:37,281
 Beautiful.

85
00:07:38,201 --> 00:07:40,081
 The bathtub is half full.

86
00:07:42,041 --> 00:07:44,881
 This baby is on his way down.

87
00:07:45,841 --> 00:07:47,281
 He's quite low.

88
00:07:48,161 --> 00:07:50,921
 Do you still feel
a strong pressure?

89
00:07:51,321 --> 00:07:52,201
 Yes I do.

90
00:07:53,121 --> 00:07:54,961
 It hurts way more.

91
00:07:58,561 --> 00:08:00,241
 I'm going to take a bath.

92
00:08:00,641 --> 00:08:03,041
 Yes, please go. Do you
need help getting up?

93
00:08:03,441 --> 00:08:04,601
 No, I'll be fine.

94
00:08:19,881 --> 00:08:22,481
 Listen for when
she starts to push.

95
00:08:41,081 --> 00:08:43,481
 It's pushing, it's pushing.

96
00:08:43,881 --> 00:08:45,641
 I'll let you do it
on your own.

97
00:09:00,641 --> 00:09:04,561
 There's the head, there's
your baby, there's your baby.

98
00:09:24,801 --> 00:09:27,681
 Yes, Hello, hello!

99
00:09:36,841 --> 00:09:39,121
 All bets are on.

100
00:09:40,961 --> 00:09:45,241
 Don't worry.
Don't worry sweetie.

101
00:09:53,801 --> 00:09:54,561
 So?

102
00:09:55,241 --> 00:09:56,681
 6 lbs 24 oz.

103
00:09:59,241 --> 00:10:00,881
 Same built,

104
00:10:02,401 --> 00:10:03,841
 same model.

105
00:10:04,241 --> 00:10:06,121
 There, let's put her back here.

106
00:10:07,121 --> 00:10:08,721
 A little hat.

107
00:10:17,001 --> 00:10:18,121
 Perfect.

108
00:10:19,921 --> 00:10:23,561
 Since you're calm, let's check
your pulse right away.

109
00:10:28,081 --> 00:10:30,881
 I know, sweetie,
it's a bit uncomfortable.

110
00:10:32,481 --> 00:10:35,241
 Hold on,
let's not move too much.

111
00:10:36,441 --> 00:10:38,841
 Oh it's perfect,
it's perfect!

112
00:10:39,881 --> 00:10:41,161
 Good circulation.

113
00:10:41,561 --> 00:10:44,281
 I'm gonna stretch your legs out,
you're not gonna like it.

114
00:10:45,281 --> 00:10:46,201
 Perfect.

115
00:10:46,641 --> 00:10:48,881
 I know, it's no fun,
it's no fun.

116
00:10:49,441 --> 00:10:51,281
 It's a pain, it's a pain.

117
00:10:54,001 --> 00:10:55,961
 Very energetic.

118
00:10:58,121 --> 00:10:59,401
 Perfect.

119
00:11:03,401 --> 00:11:05,281
 I'm going to tell
them she's born.

120
00:11:11,041 --> 00:11:12,801
 Here comes the gang.

121
00:11:31,521 --> 00:11:34,041
 Gently, be careful.

122
00:11:56,721 --> 00:11:57,681
 Come here, Remi.

123
00:11:58,081 --> 00:12:00,201
 Hold on,
I'm looking at her.

124
00:12:03,641 --> 00:12:05,441
 She's nursing in her sleep.

125
00:12:06,921 --> 00:12:09,161
 No more milk?
-No, there's more.

126
00:12:10,081 --> 00:12:11,841
 It smells bad.

127
00:12:13,761 --> 00:12:15,641
 What do you mean,
it smells bad?

128
00:12:16,041 --> 00:12:17,561
 It's not the first time
she says that.

129
00:12:17,961 --> 00:12:19,921
 I like the smell.

130
00:12:20,441 --> 00:12:23,841
 Mmm... I love it,
I find it intoxicating.

131
00:12:27,561 --> 00:12:30,721
 She wanted to wash her up
and get her dressed.

132
00:12:31,321 --> 00:12:33,961
 Alright let's get
her dressed!  -No.

133
00:12:36,521 --> 00:12:40,801
 So, why did we bring pyjamas?
-In a little bit.

134
00:12:41,201 --> 00:12:44,321
 We'll get her dressed but not
right away, there's no hurry.

135
00:12:44,721 --> 00:12:48,161
 Why does the cord
still look this way?

136
00:12:48,561 --> 00:12:50,441
 It'll fall off,
all the white part.

137
00:12:50,841 --> 00:12:53,161
 All that'll be left is the
belly-button, just like yours.

138
00:12:53,561 --> 00:12:56,241
 It's not gonna hurt, right?
-Not at all.

139
00:13:01,721 --> 00:13:04,041
 It has been largely demonstrated

140
00:13:04,441 --> 00:13:08,321
 that in order to give
birth in good conditions,

141
00:13:08,721 --> 00:13:15,281
 the woman's neocortex should get
as little stimulation as possible.

142
00:13:17,681 --> 00:13:23,601
 This fact becomes obvious as
we observe a woman giving birth.

143
00:13:24,961 --> 00:13:28,401
 This means that if a woman
is in a birth room,

144
00:13:28,601 --> 00:13:31,121
 there should be
no comings and goings,

145
00:13:31,321 --> 00:13:34,081
 no sudden clanging of pots
or metal objects.

146
00:13:34,281 --> 00:13:36,521
 Just look at the
loud ruckus we make

147
00:13:36,801 --> 00:13:39,281
 when we start
opening all the cupboards

148
00:13:39,521 --> 00:13:41,401
 because all of a sudden,
the child is about to come.

149
00:13:41,801 --> 00:13:44,641
 We're all familiar
with those women

150
00:13:44,881 --> 00:13:48,441
 who start having contractions
at home, get in their car,

151
00:13:48,761 --> 00:13:51,841
 arrive at the hospital,
and then no more contractions!

152
00:13:52,241 --> 00:13:58,881
 Having to leave
her comfort zone, her home.

153
00:13:59,761 --> 00:14:03,161
 On the way:
"I hope it'll go well,

154
00:14:03,561 --> 00:14:06,201
 I hope I didn't forget anything,
I've got my paper work."

155
00:14:06,601 --> 00:14:08,921
 That's when she
comes back down to earth.

156
00:14:09,321 --> 00:14:11,721
 "I hope I get a nice midwife,

157
00:14:12,121 --> 00:14:14,361
 I hope I'm not gonna get
that mean old Ms so-and-so,

158
00:14:14,761 --> 00:14:17,521
 I hope the doctor
I like will be there."

159
00:14:17,921 --> 00:14:23,241
 So many questions that by the time
you arrive, you're stuck up here.

160
00:14:24,401 --> 00:14:26,361
 Inevitably, there's an interaction.

161
00:14:27,001 --> 00:14:33,521
 A woman who is stressed out does not
secrete any prolactin, nor oxytocin,

162
00:14:33,921 --> 00:14:35,521
 doesn't have any ejection reflex

163
00:14:35,961 --> 00:14:42,041
 because her over-excited hypothalamus
doesn't secrete, or doesn't release;

164
00:14:42,521 --> 00:14:44,641
 her pituitary gland doesn't release.

165
00:14:45,161 --> 00:14:49,721
 And in childbirth,
this crucial hormone is needed.

166
00:14:50,281 --> 00:14:53,121
 If it's not released,
it cannot work.

167
00:15:14,841 --> 00:15:18,481
 So let's see what a woman
naturally does to get her baby out.

168
00:15:20,481 --> 00:15:24,801
 It is not going to cross her mind
to lie on her back with her legs up.

169
00:15:25,201 --> 00:15:29,681
 She might lie on her side, kneel,
or hang on to her sweetie like this.

170
00:15:30,361 --> 00:15:32,121
 She waits for a contraction.

171
00:15:32,921 --> 00:15:37,521
 And then, she takes a breath and makes
a characteristic sound with her throat.

172
00:15:37,921 --> 00:15:40,321
 She takes a breath and goes...

173
00:15:41,841 --> 00:15:43,561
 Ok? Elegant, isn't it?

174
00:15:44,761 --> 00:15:47,921
 She does that once, twice,
thrice during the contraction

175
00:15:48,321 --> 00:15:52,321
 and the midwife notices that the baby
is slowly descending, then going back up.

176
00:15:52,721 --> 00:15:55,081
 The contraction ends, mom rests.

177
00:15:55,481 --> 00:15:59,321
 Next contraction, baby descends
a little further and disappears.

178
00:15:59,721 --> 00:16:01,881
 There's a sort of natural yo-yo effect.

179
00:16:02,481 --> 00:16:04,721
 Then at one point,
baby's fully engaged.

180
00:16:05,481 --> 00:16:08,081
 At this point, time stops
for mom, I won't hide it.

181
00:16:09,001 --> 00:16:10,961
 Baby doesn't go back up anymore

182
00:16:11,281 --> 00:16:14,801
 and slowly, he slides, mom
still making throat noises.

183
00:16:15,801 --> 00:16:18,761
 You do understand that this scream
is not mom's extreme pain.

184
00:16:19,161 --> 00:16:20,721
 That scream is
the power she exerts

185
00:16:20,961 --> 00:16:23,201
 to bring her uterus back up
and get her baby out.

186
00:16:23,521 --> 00:16:24,721
 Ok? It's important.

187
00:16:25,521 --> 00:16:28,281
 Because there are moms
who'll barely scream,

188
00:16:28,521 --> 00:16:31,481
 and some who'll make a
very loud and wild scream,

189
00:16:32,041 --> 00:16:33,801
 but not because
it hurts her more.

190
00:16:34,041 --> 00:16:36,761
 It's just the power she uses
to bring her uterus back up.

191
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,080
 All women have this in them.

192
00:16:39,481 --> 00:16:41,841
 When they have a baby
on their perineum, they do that.

193
00:16:42,241 --> 00:16:43,481
 So it's important.

194
00:16:43,881 --> 00:16:47,001
 I'm writing it down because you
really need to get that in your head,

195
00:16:47,401 --> 00:16:51,241
 if you don't get an epidural, you know
how to do it, and don't ever doubt that.

196
00:16:52,601 --> 00:16:55,481
 There's nothing to learn,
you just need to wait.

197
00:16:56,161 --> 00:16:59,001
 And it comes naturally.
In fact the hard part is to wait.

198
00:17:00,281 --> 00:17:03,161
 Ok, let's give this mom
an epidural, it's her full right.

199
00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:06,401
 Goodbye reflex.

200
00:17:08,401 --> 00:17:11,681
 Going back to this pain business.

201
00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,601
 I'm actually tired of calling it "pain."

202
00:17:18,001 --> 00:17:20,481
 At the same time,
it means what it means.

203
00:17:21,121 --> 00:17:25,281
 But in my opinion it's a pain that we
need to differentiate from suffering.

204
00:17:26,721 --> 00:17:28,801
 When we're suffering,

205
00:17:29,201 --> 00:17:33,521
 it's interesting today
to use the epidural tool,

206
00:17:34,081 --> 00:17:37,401
 which we couldn't do back then,
before the epidural existed.

207
00:17:39,881 --> 00:17:45,081
 Some women would go through this
and never have kids anymore.

208
00:17:46,241 --> 00:17:53,601
 So, what could all those very intense
sensations have to do with birth?

209
00:17:55,001 --> 00:17:56,921
 What could their function be?

210
00:18:01,161 --> 00:18:02,601
 Any idea?

211
00:18:03,161 --> 00:18:05,201
 Something like an alert?

212
00:18:05,881 --> 00:18:09,161
 The more I work,
the more I see natural births,

213
00:18:09,401 --> 00:18:13,281
 the more evident it seems to me
that it's some sort of guidance.

214
00:18:14,041 --> 00:18:16,761
 In other words, for example...

215
00:18:18,561 --> 00:18:23,401
 it's so narrow that depending
on the positions we take,

216
00:18:23,801 --> 00:18:27,201
 we more or less open
a certain level of our pelvis.

217
00:18:27,841 --> 00:18:30,841
 Whether we squat, get on all fours,
stand, lean forward,

218
00:18:31,081 --> 00:18:34,321
 lie on our side, put one
leg up like this or like that...

219
00:18:36,241 --> 00:18:42,641
 Some positions will be more favorable
than others to allow the baby to engage,

220
00:18:43,041 --> 00:18:45,041
 to cross the pelvis.

221
00:18:45,441 --> 00:18:48,441
 Therefore the strong sensations are
going to guide the woman.

222
00:18:48,801 --> 00:18:52,641
 Feeling the pain allows her to adopt
a better and more comfortable position

223
00:18:53,001 --> 00:18:56,561
 and therefore eases the passage
for the baby as well as for the mom.

224
00:18:56,961 --> 00:19:01,001
 So with an epidural
she feels less

225
00:19:01,401 --> 00:19:05,881
 and therefore goes at it
kind of brutally.

226
00:19:06,561 --> 00:19:10,481
 Sometimes yes, at the final stage,
it can happen, you're totally right.

227
00:19:10,881 --> 00:19:14,681
 Obviously when we don't feel, we
don't protect ourselves the same way.

228
00:19:30,201 --> 00:19:31,881
 So, any questions?

229
00:19:32,361 --> 00:19:34,241
 Darling, do you
have any questions?

230
00:19:34,601 --> 00:19:35,601
 About what?

231
00:19:37,561 --> 00:19:39,521
 About our next vacation.

232
00:19:40,121 --> 00:19:41,641
 About our next vacation?

233
00:19:41,921 --> 00:19:45,161
 Of course not, about the baby,
our home birth plan, I don't know.

234
00:19:46,561 --> 00:19:50,201
 Oh yes. I'm with the kids
so I didn't hear what you said.

235
00:19:50,961 --> 00:19:52,961
 We talk later, later.

236
00:19:53,961 --> 00:19:55,961
 When are you seeing
the anesthesiologist?

237
00:19:56,641 --> 00:19:58,041
 Oops I forgot.

238
00:19:58,441 --> 00:20:00,721
 Oh Nina, how could you?
-I forgot...

239
00:20:02,081 --> 00:20:06,241
 Maybe I didn't want to see him.
-Yes, that's what I think.

240
00:20:07,001 --> 00:20:09,801
 No, but I'll go.
-Why don't you want to see him?

241
00:20:10,161 --> 00:20:12,161
 Because if I have to see
the anesthesiologist,

242
00:20:12,401 --> 00:20:14,601
 well I don't know,
it's the whole process actually.

243
00:20:15,001 --> 00:20:18,121
 Ok, well it's important,
we need to talk about it. -Yes.

244
00:20:19,081 --> 00:20:21,281
 I have to go, I know.
-It's not that...

245
00:20:21,481 --> 00:20:23,281
 The thing is, I don't
want to even imagine

246
00:20:23,521 --> 00:20:25,921
 that I'll get there with an
anesthesiologist, I don't even want to.

247
00:20:26,161 --> 00:20:28,321
 Yes, but that's not possible.
-Yes, I know.

248
00:20:28,721 --> 00:20:32,321
 It's because I don't have faith
anymore after what I went through,

249
00:20:32,721 --> 00:20:36,321
 I don't trust clinics
and hospitals as much, so...

250
00:20:36,921 --> 00:20:40,961
 Ok, it so happens that
you had this experience.

251
00:20:41,481 --> 00:20:44,761
 Nonetheless the first two births
didn't turn out so bad, did they?

252
00:20:45,161 --> 00:20:46,481
 No, they were ok.

253
00:20:47,321 --> 00:20:48,601
 Ok, I'll go.

254
00:20:49,521 --> 00:20:54,081
 I would like that, because it is
really an essential condition for me

255
00:20:54,481 --> 00:20:56,641
 to come over when you call.

256
00:20:57,121 --> 00:20:58,681
 Ok, that's nice.

257
00:20:59,081 --> 00:21:01,041
 Fine, I'll do what I need to do.

258
00:21:01,681 --> 00:21:03,361
 Ah! There's the back.

259
00:21:04,841 --> 00:21:05,961
 And is that the head?

260
00:21:06,401 --> 00:21:07,801
 No, the head is here.

261
00:21:09,841 --> 00:21:12,921
 You had felt it very well.
Why are you so worried?

262
00:21:14,121 --> 00:21:17,081
 Here you have the feet,
see, we felt her well.

263
00:21:18,081 --> 00:21:20,321
 The butt, the back.

264
00:21:21,481 --> 00:21:23,161
 Everything is just fine madame!

265
00:21:23,561 --> 00:21:24,961
 Ok, well good.

266
00:21:26,921 --> 00:21:31,641
 So, ladies, know that your vagina
and your baby belong to you.

267
00:21:32,041 --> 00:21:33,801
 If you feel like touching it,

268
00:21:34,041 --> 00:21:36,961
 if you feel like encouraging
yourself to welcome your baby,

269
00:21:37,361 --> 00:21:39,641
 put your hand on your
perineum, go ahead.

270
00:21:39,961 --> 00:21:43,721
 Don't ask for my permission
to hold it, to touch it.

271
00:21:44,121 --> 00:21:45,521
 It's your little one.

272
00:21:46,401 --> 00:21:48,041
 Indulge yourself.

273
00:21:48,441 --> 00:21:50,841
 And then it's THE meeting.
-It's THE meeting.

274
00:21:51,121 --> 00:21:54,881
 We're always talking about it with Paul.
We can't wait for that moment.

275
00:21:56,601 --> 00:21:59,521
 And then I'll leave you
alone for a little while.

276
00:21:59,921 --> 00:22:02,081
 Then you'll probably hold him,
but don't ask me...

277
00:22:02,481 --> 00:22:04,961
 Some moms are really cute;
they ask me: "Can I hold him?"

278
00:22:05,761 --> 00:22:06,561
 No!

279
00:22:06,881 --> 00:22:09,081
 Of course not, don't touch your baby!
-It's my baby.

280
00:22:10,521 --> 00:22:13,721
 So then you'll hold him against you,
I'll lie you on your back

281
00:22:14,121 --> 00:22:18,921
 and then I'll disappear for a little while
to leave the three of you alone. Ok?

282
00:22:20,001 --> 00:22:24,521
 Would you have advised her to drive
all the way from Bidart to Hasparren?

283
00:22:24,921 --> 00:22:28,241
 With a belly like this,
the last week of her pregnancy?

284
00:22:28,641 --> 00:22:31,441
 Yesterday, I got yelled at because
I was saying: "I can drive, I can drive!"

285
00:22:31,841 --> 00:22:33,601
 She almost wanted
to come alone.

286
00:22:34,161 --> 00:22:36,841
 And her mum and I were telling her: "Are
you nuts? What if you have contractions!"

287
00:22:37,241 --> 00:22:39,641
 And I was saying : "Wait until
we ask Muriel tomorrow, she'll say..."

288
00:22:40,041 --> 00:22:41,841
 Your  wife is not ill,
she is not ill.

289
00:22:42,241 --> 00:22:44,681
 If she thinks she can,
let her do it.

290
00:22:45,081 --> 00:22:46,521
 I knew it.

291
00:22:47,801 --> 00:22:49,961
 I shouldn't have asked the question.

292
00:22:50,361 --> 00:22:53,081
 People think that moms are
as fragile as glass. It's not true.

293
00:23:18,721 --> 00:23:21,361
 I was a real technician
when I got out of school.

294
00:23:21,721 --> 00:23:23,081
 I was at the hospital.

295
00:23:23,321 --> 00:23:25,641
 A nice maternity ward
where we were working like crazy.

296
00:23:26,041 --> 00:23:27,841
 I did that for 10 years.

297
00:23:29,201 --> 00:23:30,441
 And then I became a mum.

298
00:23:31,161 --> 00:23:34,801
 And being on the other side of the fence
gave me a different perspective.

299
00:23:35,601 --> 00:23:38,281
 Because I was not heard at all

300
00:23:38,601 --> 00:23:42,241
 when I asked for something
softer and less medicalized.

301
00:23:45,281 --> 00:23:51,001
 So, clearly, becoming a mum
changed me as a midwife,

302
00:23:51,841 --> 00:23:55,481
 the way I looked at
what I was doing to mothers.

303
00:24:06,241 --> 00:24:09,921
 Presently, home births in France
are not what they used to be.

304
00:24:10,321 --> 00:24:13,921
 Sanitary conditions are completely
different. There are roads and cars.

305
00:24:14,321 --> 00:24:18,481
 If you need to see a doctor, it doesn't
take you two days by horse to get there.

306
00:24:18,881 --> 00:24:21,081
 Pregnancies are monitored.

307
00:24:21,481 --> 00:24:26,241
 We don't discover twins in
the middle of the labour.

308
00:24:26,641 --> 00:24:29,841
 Tons of illnesses
have been eliminated.

309
00:24:30,241 --> 00:24:32,601
 We have ways
of monitoring births

310
00:24:32,841 --> 00:24:36,001
 which we didn't
particularly have before.

311
00:24:36,921 --> 00:24:40,361
 Hello beauties,
I came to see your little brother.

312
00:24:41,481 --> 00:24:43,801
 How is he doing today?
-He's nursing.

313
00:24:44,201 --> 00:24:46,921
 Oh he's nursing.
Well let me go check that out then.

314
00:24:48,881 --> 00:24:51,041
 Could you move the stroller?

315
00:25:14,481 --> 00:25:16,521
 I often tell this story:

316
00:25:16,921 --> 00:25:20,041
 the first person who told me:
"I want to give birth on all fours",

317
00:25:20,321 --> 00:25:23,041
 I told her "it's not possible."
I was a young midwife then,

318
00:25:23,281 --> 00:25:26,401
 I had never seen that and
had no idea how it worked.

319
00:25:26,761 --> 00:25:30,041
 So -she must've planned it out-
she told me:

320
00:25:30,441 --> 00:25:32,761
 "I want to pee, I want to go pee."

321
00:25:33,161 --> 00:25:35,041
 She didn't want the bedpan,

322
00:25:35,321 --> 00:25:37,401
 I allowed her to get up
to go to the bathroom,

323
00:25:37,721 --> 00:25:40,201
 she didn't have an epidural.
And as soon as she got up, bang,

324
00:25:40,521 --> 00:25:42,801
 she got on her hands and knees
and started to push.

325
00:25:43,961 --> 00:25:47,561
 I couldn't carry her
onto the table.

326
00:25:48,281 --> 00:25:50,601
 The baby was there anyway,
I could see him coming.

327
00:25:51,681 --> 00:25:55,401
 I was a bit overwhelmed, you see,
because I had never seen this.

328
00:25:56,121 --> 00:25:58,361
 So I placed some
sliding sheets under her.

329
00:25:58,641 --> 00:26:00,281
 I screamed to call the assistant:

330
00:26:00,521 --> 00:26:02,601
 "She's giving birth,
she's giving birth, on all fours!"

331
00:26:05,641 --> 00:26:07,921
 And the baby's arriving
on this perineum

332
00:26:08,161 --> 00:26:10,681
 I couldn't figure out
because it was upside down.

333
00:26:12,121 --> 00:26:16,441
 And I told myself: "Since I have
no clue, I'm not going to touch.

334
00:26:16,801 --> 00:26:19,961
 I'd better not touch or else I'll create
problems more than anything else."

335
00:26:20,361 --> 00:26:23,161
 So I just watched
this child come out.

336
00:26:23,801 --> 00:26:27,721
 That woman taught me
my first birth on hands and knees.

337
00:26:30,121 --> 00:26:34,321
 That woman had decided that
she would have it her way, not mine.

338
00:26:37,161 --> 00:26:41,481
 If you place... See, I'm defining
the walls of her uterus.

339
00:26:41,881 --> 00:26:44,801
 With the tip of your fingers, place
one hand here, the other one there

340
00:26:45,201 --> 00:26:47,401
 and you'll feel like a round ball.

341
00:26:47,801 --> 00:26:50,481
 And there if you look
for where it...

342
00:26:51,281 --> 00:26:53,881
 It sort of dips down...

343
00:26:54,401 --> 00:26:56,441
 You realize that the
uterine fundus is right there.

344
00:26:56,681 --> 00:26:57,681
 Go ahead, try.

345
00:26:58,001 --> 00:26:59,841
 With both hands,
in comparison.

346
00:27:00,161 --> 00:27:02,001
 Place one hand here
and the other one there.

347
00:27:02,401 --> 00:27:05,201
 Oh yes, ok.  -With your
fingertips, and then you...

348
00:27:07,481 --> 00:27:09,521
 Oh yes, I can feel it.
-Well, there you go.

349
00:27:09,761 --> 00:27:11,441
 Well yes, but I'm
always afraid to hurt her.

350
00:27:11,681 --> 00:27:13,801
 Come on now, surely
she can tell you to stop, no?

351
00:27:14,041 --> 00:27:16,281
 Oh yes she can!
-That's what I said.

352
00:27:29,081 --> 00:27:33,401
 Could we go over some questions
that might've suddenly come up

353
00:27:33,721 --> 00:27:36,561
 about what was said
and done yesterday?

354
00:27:36,961 --> 00:27:40,601
 I sensed there was
some questioning.

355
00:27:41,001 --> 00:27:43,521
 You were talking about availability
of accompaniment...

356
00:27:43,921 --> 00:27:46,921
 Midwives lack the
necessary amount of time

357
00:27:47,241 --> 00:27:49,481
 to provide quality
accompaniment,

358
00:27:49,881 --> 00:27:53,681
 because we're busy doing lots of other
things which aren't very interesting.

359
00:27:54,121 --> 00:27:58,681
 I can say nothing less!
-Some women I see post-birth

360
00:27:59,161 --> 00:28:02,121
 who were lucky to be alone
with the midwife on duty tell me:

361
00:28:02,521 --> 00:28:05,241
 "She was there, she accompanied me."
It often went well.

362
00:28:05,641 --> 00:28:08,321
 But then there are those who
would've really needed a presence,

363
00:28:08,641 --> 00:28:10,561
 but who didn't
have one at the time.

364
00:28:10,961 --> 00:28:13,601
 Well with public
health policies

365
00:28:13,921 --> 00:28:18,081
 that are purely based on
the profitability of everything,

366
00:28:18,481 --> 00:28:21,681
 premises, staff,
that's what you get.

367
00:28:22,081 --> 00:28:25,281
 We're very far from quality
healthcare. How can we?

368
00:28:25,681 --> 00:28:30,401
 Since, at least for us,
this level of quality

369
00:28:30,801 --> 00:28:33,721
 requires some time and availability.

370
00:28:34,121 --> 00:28:39,081
 So, about the issue
of women lying down on a bed.

371
00:28:39,481 --> 00:28:42,281
 If you listen to them when
they tell you what they do

372
00:28:42,601 --> 00:28:46,081
 before they get to the hospital, the
majority don't stay lying down in bed.

373
00:28:46,481 --> 00:28:49,441
 They walk, they stroll,
they do their usual stuff.

374
00:28:49,841 --> 00:28:52,001
 So then I wonder...
Hold on, let me just finish.

375
00:28:52,401 --> 00:28:55,321
 You enter a room where
there's a bed. It's really inducing.

376
00:28:55,561 --> 00:28:56,841
 Even that's inducing!

377
00:28:57,201 --> 00:28:59,601
 So you're a good girl,
you lie down

378
00:29:00,001 --> 00:29:03,241
 because you watched TV shows
on the first channel every evening

379
00:29:03,481 --> 00:29:06,001
 that showed you how to give birth
and over and over

380
00:29:06,241 --> 00:29:09,401
 you've watched women lie down
with a thing behind their back.

381
00:29:09,641 --> 00:29:11,001
 And then, they push.

382
00:29:11,241 --> 00:29:14,361
 So obviously you can't imagine
you can do it differently.

383
00:29:15,041 --> 00:29:18,721
 I realized that I trivialized
the medicalization of birth

384
00:29:19,041 --> 00:29:20,961
 when I talked to women.

385
00:29:21,361 --> 00:29:24,081
 One of my classes is
"medicalization of birth."

386
00:29:24,481 --> 00:29:27,241
 Here's how it goes, you'll get
an IV, be hooked to the monitor.

387
00:29:27,481 --> 00:29:30,201
 With a lot of humour of course!
I tell them: "You'll be like this,

388
00:29:30,441 --> 00:29:34,401
 oximeter on your finger, blood pressure
monitor, fetal monitoring..."

389
00:29:35,721 --> 00:29:39,041
 That's when I felt like I was
entering this narrow mold of

390
00:29:39,281 --> 00:29:42,361
 "it's like this, it's like that."
When in fact, it may not be that way.

391
00:29:42,801 --> 00:29:44,041
 So for me, it's important

392
00:29:44,241 --> 00:29:46,401
 both from a professional
and personal point of view.

393
00:29:46,801 --> 00:29:49,841
 I don't intend
to do home births...

394
00:29:51,241 --> 00:29:54,321
 not right now at least.
Maybe one day. I don't know.

395
00:29:54,721 --> 00:30:01,441
 I find it quite wonderful, but I
don't know if it'll be my path or not.

396
00:30:01,961 --> 00:30:05,721
 The objective is not home birth.
The goal is that,

397
00:30:06,041 --> 00:30:10,641
 wherever we are, midwives can
allow physiology to be respected.

398
00:30:11,801 --> 00:30:14,801
 It's not about
promoting home births.

399
00:30:42,841 --> 00:30:44,001
 I'm coming in.

400
00:30:45,161 --> 00:30:46,281
 Come in, come in.

401
00:30:51,081 --> 00:30:52,601
 How are you?

402
00:30:53,041 --> 00:30:56,161
 So so, a little tired.
-You look tired.

403
00:30:56,761 --> 00:30:58,761
 You look very tired even.

404
00:30:59,721 --> 00:31:02,361
 I feel like I had
more energy this morning.

405
00:31:02,601 --> 00:31:04,721
 It sort of came
over me at midday.

406
00:31:05,601 --> 00:31:07,601
 It means it's time for a nap.

407
00:31:08,001 --> 00:31:10,121
 Yes, probably.
-I think so.

408
00:31:16,481 --> 00:31:20,481
 I'll let you nurse her, we'll weigh her
afterwards so we don't make her wait.

409
00:31:22,281 --> 00:31:25,401
 So watch out, because she'll catch it
before you have time to say anything.

410
00:31:31,241 --> 00:31:32,761
 Here you go, sweetie!

411
00:31:33,721 --> 00:31:37,041
 She opens her mouth much wider now.
-Yes, I see it's gotten better.

412
00:31:38,641 --> 00:31:41,761
 She's nicely nestled. There.

413
00:31:43,201 --> 00:31:45,121
 She's a bit far.
-Ok.

414
00:31:45,521 --> 00:31:47,401
 I would put her more over here.

415
00:31:50,761 --> 00:31:54,521
 Are you able to go sit in the chair now?
-Yes but not right away.

416
00:31:54,921 --> 00:31:58,041
 It would actually be better so that
your breast can hang better.  -Ok.

417
00:31:59,161 --> 00:32:02,241
 If I were you I would comfortably
position myself before nursing.

418
00:32:02,481 --> 00:32:03,881
 Let me place a pillow.

419
00:32:05,161 --> 00:32:08,361
 Do you have enough pillows?
-Yes, I'm good.

420
00:32:18,401 --> 00:32:20,281
 I hear a lot of glup glup.

421
00:32:24,121 --> 00:32:26,201
 Is your milk already
coming in or what?

422
00:32:27,001 --> 00:32:28,321
 I don't know.

423
00:32:28,841 --> 00:32:30,481
 He sure is gulping a lot.

424
00:32:32,641 --> 00:32:35,121
 Do you have to hold your breast
like that? -So that he can breathe.

425
00:32:35,521 --> 00:32:37,721
 No, leave it alone,
otherwise it's pulling your breast.

426
00:32:38,121 --> 00:32:40,521
 I'm wondering if it's not
making your pain worse.

427
00:32:41,641 --> 00:32:43,601
 Right now, does it hurt
when you nurse or not?

428
00:32:44,281 --> 00:32:46,641
 No, I don't think so,
because he's well positioned.

429
00:32:47,761 --> 00:32:51,241
 But last night and
this morning it was hurting.

430
00:33:00,401 --> 00:33:03,481
 The best way to end a feeding
is when he unlatches on his own.

431
00:33:03,721 --> 00:33:05,281
 Wow, I'm exhausted.

432
00:33:22,001 --> 00:33:24,001
 So it's my fourth pregnancy.

433
00:33:24,401 --> 00:33:27,961
 I had three births previously which
were each different from one another.

434
00:33:28,361 --> 00:33:33,281
 The first one was with
epidural and forceps.

435
00:33:34,881 --> 00:33:38,401
 When we got to the hospital,
nothing went the way we had hoped.

436
00:33:38,801 --> 00:33:42,561
 We had done haptonomy, we thought
we would be helped and accompanied.

437
00:33:43,001 --> 00:33:46,721
 But it turned out we arrived at a time
when there probably were many births.

438
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,241
 My waters had just broken
but I had no contractions yet

439
00:33:50,521 --> 00:33:52,561
 and the first thing
we were told was:

440
00:33:52,961 --> 00:33:56,041
 "A lot of women are giving birth right
now, we'll put you in a room on the side

441
00:33:56,441 --> 00:33:58,561
 and Sir, you go home
and we'll call you."

442
00:33:58,961 --> 00:34:01,561
 At that point I lost ground
and I had control of nothing at all.

443
00:34:01,961 --> 00:34:03,640
 I have a very bad memory of it.

444
00:34:04,041 --> 00:34:06,361
 When I was pregnant
with my second daughter,

445
00:34:07,081 --> 00:34:09,600
 I really really did not want
to go to the hospital at all.

446
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:11,801
 My contractions
weren't very painful

447
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:14,600
 and I managed them very well,
and then at one point...

448
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:16,960
 The shift...
-That was it...

449
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,920
 I felt I was giving birth,
so we finally called an ambulance.

450
00:34:22,321 --> 00:34:23,400
 Ok.

451
00:34:23,801 --> 00:34:26,920
 At one point I felt an urge to push,
they were here, I was on my couch.

452
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:28,920
 My daughter's head came out

453
00:34:29,321 --> 00:34:32,600
 and that's when they realized that
they weren't here for a transfer

454
00:34:32,841 --> 00:34:34,080
 but for a birth.

455
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:37,400
 That was my nicest birth actually.

456
00:34:37,801 --> 00:34:41,241
 It was an extraordinary
moment for me.

457
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:44,200
 Because of the sensations
I felt while I birthed.

458
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:48,200
 I would've given anything afterwards
to relive the same emotion.

459
00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:51,040
 Of course, it would've
been better with a midwife

460
00:34:51,281 --> 00:34:53,120
 because I would've
known where I was at.

461
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:54,680
 The welcoming
could've been softer.

462
00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:57,520
 So that's why we're
considering that option now.

463
00:34:57,921 --> 00:35:01,841
 Laurent didn't experience
the home birth the same way at all.

464
00:35:02,321 --> 00:35:05,441
 We had taken the
medicalized route to start with.

465
00:35:05,961 --> 00:35:08,640
 We were supposed
to go to the hospital

466
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,761
 and all of a sudden
we were all alone,

467
00:35:12,241 --> 00:35:14,520
 because she was about
to give birth at any moment.

468
00:35:14,921 --> 00:35:17,200
 So I called an ambulance, but it takes
them at least 5 minutes to arrive,

469
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,321
 which meant she could very likely...
-The fear was mostly that...

470
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:22,200
 Well for 5 minutes
I found myself alone

471
00:35:22,401 --> 00:35:24,080
 with my wife who was
having contractions

472
00:35:24,281 --> 00:35:26,640
 and I wondered if I would
end up delivering the baby.

473
00:35:27,281 --> 00:35:30,560
 So, what do you want to know
regarding the delivery?

474
00:35:30,961 --> 00:35:34,841
 So, about that, what do you do
if there are complications?

475
00:35:35,241 --> 00:35:38,241
 Knowing that, at the hospital,

476
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:40,721
 the midwife
didn't make a move

477
00:35:40,961 --> 00:35:43,441
 and called the doctor
for a forceps intervention.

478
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,361
 Yes, it's true that midwives don't
do forceps, I don't have forceps.

479
00:35:48,761 --> 00:35:51,401
 I won't use forceps,
that for sure.

480
00:35:52,881 --> 00:35:56,640
 In a home birth setting,
there are no interventions.

481
00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:58,761
 One of two things can happen:

482
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:04,881
 either it goes well, simply,
normally and physiologically,

483
00:36:05,761 --> 00:36:10,000
 or things are iffy and we transfer.

484
00:36:10,721 --> 00:36:16,441
 At the slightest sign that
the baby isn't well during labour,

485
00:36:16,881 --> 00:36:18,281
 we transfer you.

486
00:36:18,841 --> 00:36:22,961
 If contractions decrease,
if dilation stagnates,

487
00:36:23,481 --> 00:36:26,600
 if the baby clearly
doesn't descend.

488
00:36:27,721 --> 00:36:29,281
 There are many signs.

489
00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:31,841
 Many hours can go by
without medication

490
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,600
 before the baby's condition
gets critical.  -OK.

491
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,000
 We accompany physiological births,

492
00:36:51,441 --> 00:36:53,801
 we only accompany
births without epidurals.

493
00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,120
 In other words, at home,
we won't use medication.

494
00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:02,281
 If we need medical assistance,
we transfer to the hospital.

495
00:37:02,801 --> 00:37:06,361
 That said, 9 out of 10 births
don't require medicalization.

496
00:37:07,481 --> 00:37:10,160
 And you've already done
a strict selection

497
00:37:10,401 --> 00:37:13,120
 of the births you accept
to assist by then.

498
00:37:13,321 --> 00:37:16,560
 Yes, absolutely, it means
a physiological pregnancy,

499
00:37:16,961 --> 00:37:19,921
 with no particular medical history.

500
00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:25,361
 So that means if we're
transferred to the hospital,

501
00:37:25,761 --> 00:37:27,961
 it's the midwives there
who will take care of us.

502
00:37:28,361 --> 00:37:30,321
 Correct, they will take over.

503
00:37:30,921 --> 00:37:36,520
 In a case like this, we accompany you
all the way to the hospital doors.

504
00:37:36,921 --> 00:37:38,961
 Nowadays, we generally come in

505
00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,721
 and stay with the parents
for about 15 minutes

506
00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,761
 but we're not able
to do much more than that.

507
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,000
 All right, let's place
this over here,

508
00:37:52,361 --> 00:37:54,961
 and the little tray.
-Thank you.

509
00:37:56,321 --> 00:38:01,120
 Healthwise, not all women
can consider such a project..

510
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,640
 Therefore it's important
to register at a hospital

511
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:08,721
 where you can transfer to,
just in case.

512
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:13,401
 Whether it's during the pregnancy,
the birth or even afterwards.

513
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:17,160
 Which brings us to
this issue of insurance.

514
00:38:22,801 --> 00:38:27,040
 All health professionals are
required to have insurance.

515
00:38:27,921 --> 00:38:29,801
 This law passed in 2001

516
00:38:30,761 --> 00:38:35,721
 and insurance companies have taken
the opportunity to raise their prices,

517
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:42,000
 using the support of jurisprudence,
especially the Perruche arrest,

518
00:38:42,401 --> 00:38:45,080
 a notorious trial in France,

519
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:50,361
 where parents were granted
very high financial compensation.

520
00:38:51,721 --> 00:38:56,281
 As a result, insurances
need to charge a lot more

521
00:38:57,401 --> 00:39:02,841
 and consequently they're absolutely
unaffordable for midwives.

522
00:39:03,241 --> 00:39:07,520
 They range between 20,000
and 30,000 euros per year.

523
00:39:09,241 --> 00:39:11,680
 It's absolutely unattainable.

524
00:39:14,721 --> 00:39:18,241
 As a result we're borderline legal,

525
00:39:19,401 --> 00:39:22,080
 because although no laws
prevent a midwife

526
00:39:22,321 --> 00:39:24,961
 from accompanying
people for a home birth,

527
00:39:25,361 --> 00:39:30,801
 but she can't meet
insurance requirements,

528
00:39:31,401 --> 00:39:34,281
 so she's illegal.

529
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:35,241
 I don't know about you but, the longer
I stay awake, the more I need to eat.

530
00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,841
 So I'm gonna need to eat a little.
-Well, eat!

531
00:41:40,801 --> 00:41:42,481
 Take good care of her.

532
00:41:43,921 --> 00:41:46,160
 I promise, Cedric.
-Thank you, Cecile.

533
00:42:49,961 --> 00:42:52,281
 Everything's still
going very well.

534
00:43:16,321 --> 00:43:19,281
 How do you want to position
yourself?  -I don't know.

535
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:26,401
 Do you want to lie back
down a little, maybe?

536
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,040
 Get on your hands
and knees?

537
00:43:30,281 --> 00:43:31,441
 I don't know.

538
00:43:42,241 --> 00:43:44,120
 You can lean your
back against me.

539
00:44:11,801 --> 00:44:13,441
 Why isn't he coming out?

540
00:44:13,841 --> 00:44:15,680
 Because it's little by little.

541
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:18,120
 Ok.
-He's coming.

542
00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:21,841
 Very good,
he's almost made all the way down.

543
00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,921
 I don't know what's
keeping him from descending.

544
00:44:40,321 --> 00:44:44,560
 Your perineum looks very stretched
out. I think it's probably a big baby.

545
00:44:45,961 --> 00:44:49,000
 Which is not very surprising,
we were expecting that.

546
00:44:50,321 --> 00:44:52,200
 I'm gonna pack up.

547
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,441
 Pack up. That would be great,
perfect, exactly what we need.

548
00:45:02,841 --> 00:45:05,120
 What are they gonna do
to me at the hospital?

549
00:45:05,321 --> 00:45:07,120
 I think that,
considering where he is,

550
00:45:07,361 --> 00:45:09,481
 they'll probably do something
to help the baby out,

551
00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:13,321
 with a vacuum or forceps,
because he's already descended far.

552
00:45:13,721 --> 00:45:16,520
 Had he descended even further,
an episiotomy could be done,

553
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,921
 but he's still too high,
it's not enough.

554
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:23,241
 He's not engaged
in the perineum enough.

555
00:45:34,881 --> 00:45:36,921
 Hello?
-Yes, Gisele, it's Cecile.

556
00:45:37,361 --> 00:45:40,680
 Did she give birth?  -Yes she did
but at the hospital, we left.

557
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:44,801
 Yes, it went well, very well.

558
00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:47,801
 The baby turned out to be OP.

559
00:45:48,801 --> 00:45:50,721
 She pushed for a long time.

560
00:45:52,281 --> 00:45:56,600
 She was at mid-pelvis
for a long time so we left.

561
00:46:02,801 --> 00:46:07,241
 Yes, it was still a nice night.
-Was it?

562
00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:11,281
 Yes, and then she had an episiotomy
once we got there, that's all.

563
00:46:15,401 --> 00:46:18,080
 Yes, and you're
yawning and yawning.

564
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:25,801
 So what was
this path you took?

565
00:46:34,961 --> 00:46:41,160
 Let's say we are a little bit
disappointed, but just a little.

566
00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:46,160
 Yes, it went really well at home.

567
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:51,961
 We were prepared for the
possibility of it not ending here,

568
00:46:52,401 --> 00:46:54,200
 right from the start.

569
00:46:55,680 --> 00:47:00,321
 And, well, we left, things
went well and ended well, quickly.

570
00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:03,160
 Quick and well!

571
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:06,441
 Yeah because on the
table, I was thinking:

572
00:47:06,761 --> 00:47:08,481
 "Ok, if  she doesn't
come out, in..."

573
00:47:09,721 --> 00:47:12,401
 Anyway, there wouldn't have been
a C-section, she was too low.

574
00:47:12,801 --> 00:47:14,441
 Yes, but they would've
had to go get her.

575
00:47:14,721 --> 00:47:17,921
 There could've been forceps, or a
vacuum. That's what I had thought.

576
00:47:18,321 --> 00:47:21,761
 Because in any case, seeing how
high her head was before we left,

577
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:24,241
 I wouldn't have done
an episiotomy at home.

578
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:38,961
 Are you happy with your project?

579
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,321
 Have you talked over it again?
-You still have concerns.

580
00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:47,841
 Well, there's always the possibility of
the cord being around the neck.

581
00:47:48,361 --> 00:47:51,680
 So, the cord around the neck.
-And that the heart stops.

582
00:47:52,481 --> 00:47:55,680
 The heart doesn't just
stop like that. You'll hear it.

583
00:47:56,080 --> 00:48:00,160
 In other words, at each contraction
the child is drawn downwards.

584
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:02,881
 Then the cord is compressed

585
00:48:03,281 --> 00:48:09,560
 and that's when you'll hear
a decrease in the heart rate,

586
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,801
 which will increase again
at the end of the contraction,

587
00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:17,881
 because the pressure decreases
when the contraction stops.

588
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:22,040
 When you have this kind
of thing going on during labour,

589
00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:25,281
 there's an abnormal situation,
and you go to the hospital.

590
00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:28,520
 But the heart doesn't
just suddenly stop like that.

591
00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:35,200
 A large number of children were
born with the cord around their neck,

592
00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:38,841
 or a sling, and it doesn't cause
any problem most of the time.

593
00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:40,721
 Including in hospitals,

594
00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:44,640
 but a little less, because
labour is medically accompanied,

595
00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:47,961
 so you often have induced
contractions with synthetic oxytocin,

596
00:48:48,361 --> 00:48:50,961
 an artificial rupture of membranes.

597
00:48:51,961 --> 00:48:57,000
 So you're in a situation
which is not physiological,

598
00:48:57,401 --> 00:48:59,080
 which is not normal.

599
00:49:00,080 --> 00:49:02,281
 With artificial
rupture of membranes,

600
00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:04,841
 there are higher risks
of cord compression,

601
00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:07,401
 that your baby no longer
tolerate the contractions,

602
00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:10,160
 and that you end up
having to get a C-section.

603
00:49:11,361 --> 00:49:13,040
 It's more frequent.

604
00:49:15,921 --> 00:49:20,000
 I personally delivered many children
with the cord around their neck, many.

605
00:49:20,721 --> 00:49:23,281
 Almost a quarter of births.

606
00:49:24,040 --> 00:49:26,881
 But it's good that you ask yourself
all those questions.

607
00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:32,080
 If you're overwhelmed with such
questions on the day of the birth

608
00:49:32,481 --> 00:49:35,520
 and it doesn't work for you,
we go to the hospital.

609
00:49:35,801 --> 00:49:38,560
 If you tell me: "I want to go to
the hospital", it's enough for me.

610
00:49:38,961 --> 00:49:41,520
 I don't need a reason to go there.

611
00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:47,361
 The only reason would be that
you don't feel secure at that moment.

612
00:49:48,281 --> 00:49:50,761
 You need to feel very very free,

613
00:49:51,241 --> 00:49:53,961
 we're not bound
by any sort of contract.

614
00:50:16,321 --> 00:50:20,680
 In France, there are
very few alternatives for parents.

615
00:50:21,841 --> 00:50:25,640
 The hospital setting is practically
the only option for most people.

616
00:50:26,040 --> 00:50:31,200
 But in a huge number of hospitals
in France, if a woman says:

617
00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:34,761
 "I'd like to walk,
I'd like to give birth crouching",

618
00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:37,441
 she's told:
"It's not possible."

619
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:42,040
 Since there are no alternatives,
people are forced to accept this.

620
00:50:42,761 --> 00:50:46,640
 Currently there are no
functional birth centers

621
00:50:46,881 --> 00:50:49,881
 and home births
are highly criticized

622
00:50:50,241 --> 00:50:54,401
 and receive little support from
professionals and public authorities.

623
00:51:04,761 --> 00:51:10,560
 People tell me: "But why do they
put themselves at risk like that?"

624
00:51:10,961 --> 00:51:16,761
 They're unable to hear that it is
a real demand from our patients.

625
00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:26,200
 And that when people start using their
skills to respond to their demands,

626
00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:31,241
 it'll be much better than
leaving them unaccompanied.

627
00:51:32,281 --> 00:51:35,680
 To them, removing the
midwives who do home births

628
00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:40,600
 means ending home births. I tell
them, no, home births do exist.

629
00:51:45,921 --> 00:51:49,921
 Everything that needs
to be taken out of our organism

630
00:51:50,321 --> 00:51:53,441
 is taken out through
the contraction of its container.

631
00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:56,481
 The rectum, the bladder,
the stomach, to cite only a few,

632
00:51:56,680 --> 00:51:58,401
 all function the same way.

633
00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:02,361
 I don't see why, suddenly,
it would be different for the uterus.

634
00:52:02,801 --> 00:52:05,680
 Try to make a lady push
without contractions,

635
00:52:05,881 --> 00:52:07,640
 you'll see that nothing happens

636
00:52:07,841 --> 00:52:10,520
 except that the lady exhausts
herself and then someone says:

637
00:52:10,881 --> 00:52:13,361
 "She's been pushing
for too long, let's get the forceps."

638
00:52:13,761 --> 00:52:19,080
 Why must we absolutely
turn a head, extract a shoulder,

639
00:52:19,481 --> 00:52:24,520
 when in fact we're preventing the
child from being born spontaneously?

640
00:52:24,881 --> 00:52:28,000
 What's the use
of freeing up a head?

641
00:52:28,721 --> 00:52:32,841
 Those are totally unnecessary
moves that we're still being taught

642
00:52:33,281 --> 00:52:37,801
 and that have no purpose at all.
Does this seem logical to you?

643
00:52:41,841 --> 00:52:44,761
 What other situations
of this type can you think of?

644
00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:47,640
 Well, we could talk
about delivery hemorrhage.

645
00:52:50,080 --> 00:52:52,680
 Delivery means what it means,

646
00:52:53,080 --> 00:52:56,000
 which is that a birth is not
complete until the placenta is out.

647
00:52:56,560 --> 00:53:01,721
 And we, midwives, are of course
very attentive to that phase.

648
00:53:02,401 --> 00:53:03,721
 Same thing here.

649
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:12,881
 Give me reasons why a woman could
possibly bleed excessively during birth.

650
00:53:14,241 --> 00:53:16,961
 There's no particular reason
for that to happen at home,

651
00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:18,401
 when you've done nothing,

652
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:22,801
 and whatever delivery
hemorrhage you might have,

653
00:53:23,321 --> 00:53:26,241
 it's not like it comes out
full stream from an open valve.

654
00:53:26,640 --> 00:53:30,120
 It comes out in bursts and clots,
and at one point you think:

655
00:53:30,520 --> 00:53:32,520
 "OK, this is not good,
we have to do something."

656
00:53:32,921 --> 00:53:34,401
 Right or wrong?
-Right

657
00:53:34,721 --> 00:53:38,801
 But what everyone imagines and fears
is this full stream wide open valve.

658
00:53:39,481 --> 00:53:42,040
 Because that's what they go through
at the hospital once in a while.

659
00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:47,000
 And it's the worst nightmare, imagine,
when you don't know how to stop it.

660
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:51,441
 When you have to take out the woman's
uterus or do some other crazy thing.

661
00:53:52,160 --> 00:53:53,680
 It's scary.

662
00:53:54,321 --> 00:53:58,241
 But the chances of this type of
hemorrhage happening are very slim

663
00:53:58,640 --> 00:54:00,520
 because we don't
use synthetic oxytocin.

664
00:54:01,281 --> 00:54:05,281
 Plus, lucky us,
the latest study on this topic

665
00:54:05,801 --> 00:54:08,401
 has demonstrated
in a very compelling way that,

666
00:54:08,921 --> 00:54:11,120
 unless there are risk factors,

667
00:54:11,520 --> 00:54:15,600
 such as Willebrand's disease
or some other condition,

668
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,560
 most of the time,
those types of hemorrhages

669
00:54:18,961 --> 00:54:21,441
 are all caused by abuses
of synthetic oxytocin.

670
00:54:38,560 --> 00:54:41,361
 Why don't you take off
your T-shirt to welcome the baby?

671
00:54:43,361 --> 00:54:44,401
 He's here?

672
00:54:44,761 --> 00:54:45,721
 Almost.

673
00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:48,361
 Well, if you feel him pushing...
-Can you see the head?

674
00:54:48,761 --> 00:54:50,080
 No, not yet.

675
00:54:50,481 --> 00:54:51,801
 Is he in the pelvis?

676
00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:55,961
 Most likely, if you start feeling the
urge to push, it means he's not far.

677
00:54:56,520 --> 00:54:58,361
 So you catch him like this,

678
00:54:59,401 --> 00:55:04,721
 you hold him. Make sure
the head doesn't drop too much

679
00:55:06,321 --> 00:55:11,401
 Leave him head out and the shoulders
will gently come out afterwards

680
00:55:11,721 --> 00:55:13,680
 but I'll guide you.
No worries.

681
00:55:26,281 --> 00:55:29,761
 Mommy's here,
mom and dad are here.

682
00:55:30,241 --> 00:55:33,361
 My love, we're here, my baby.
-Welcome Mendhi.

683
00:55:35,600 --> 00:55:37,321
 We were waiting
for you, you know.

684
00:55:48,241 --> 00:55:50,881
 Where's the little one?
-She's here, she's walking now.

685
00:55:51,481 --> 00:55:53,600
 Over here,
we're in this little corner.

686
00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:55,520
 So it's just a room in fact.

687
00:55:57,721 --> 00:55:59,560
 There's a little bathroom,

688
00:56:00,481 --> 00:56:01,801
 a bathtub.

689
00:56:04,841 --> 00:56:09,080
 We'll be in a dim atmosphere

690
00:56:10,241 --> 00:56:12,520
 to soothe the mom.

691
00:56:13,120 --> 00:56:15,761
 And no one will enter the room,
it'll be just the three of us.

692
00:56:16,881 --> 00:56:18,921
 And we'll remake history.
-It's going to change!

693
00:56:19,321 --> 00:56:20,881
 And so we'll remake history.

694
00:56:21,281 --> 00:56:25,200
 We came to see you because
we heard good things about you,

695
00:56:25,881 --> 00:56:27,921
 so we wanted to meet you.

696
00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:32,200
 Our plan is to make it happen
as naturally as possible.

697
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:36,640
 As naturally as possible, you see
yourselves welcoming the baby...

698
00:56:37,040 --> 00:56:39,160
 Are you aware
of the options you have with me?

699
00:56:39,560 --> 00:56:42,080
 Because you have two options
with me.  -Not at home.

700
00:56:42,481 --> 00:56:44,640
 Not at home.
-Preferably in Orthez.

701
00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:46,000
 Ok.

702
00:56:47,120 --> 00:56:51,520
 When I'm in Orthez, I have
a room at my disposal

703
00:56:51,921 --> 00:56:57,281
 which is de-medicalized and where
I offer an alternative to home births.

704
00:56:58,080 --> 00:57:01,761
 It's just the two of you
and me, no one intervenes.

705
00:57:02,281 --> 00:57:06,160
 No one comes to see what's
happening or to examine you.

706
00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:11,801
 I keep the medical team
informed on how we are doing.

707
00:57:12,961 --> 00:57:16,040
 If everything goes well,
the birth takes place in that room.

708
00:57:16,441 --> 00:57:19,040
 We do this together,
relaxed, just like at home.

709
00:57:20,401 --> 00:57:22,680
 If a transfer is needed,
you just cross the hallway

710
00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:25,361
 and the medical team
takes over.

711
00:57:31,241 --> 00:57:34,560
 There are very few technical
facilities in France, about 20.

712
00:57:35,481 --> 00:57:36,600
 But why so few?

713
00:57:37,441 --> 00:57:40,680
 Because doctors don't want to
accommodate them, that's all.

714
00:57:41,080 --> 00:57:44,921
 They always wonder what's
happening in those "natural" rooms.

715
00:57:46,600 --> 00:57:48,640
 Will we react fast enough?

716
00:57:49,040 --> 00:57:53,600
 Or will we know what actions
to take or recognize difficulties?

717
00:57:55,361 --> 00:57:57,841
 The doctors are holding back,
quite simply.

718
00:57:58,481 --> 00:58:02,120
 Because if they wanted to, there would
birthing rooms facilities everywhere.

719
00:58:13,680 --> 00:58:15,921
 Hi! Oh my!

720
00:58:22,721 --> 00:58:25,441
 Hello miss Lutece!
-This is Sidonie.

721
00:58:27,281 --> 00:58:29,321
 She's looking at me, isn't she!

722
00:58:29,721 --> 00:58:32,801
 We told her: "It's the woman
who helped us birth you."

723
00:58:33,200 --> 00:58:36,200
 How are you?
I can hardly recognize them.

724
00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:40,761
 They sure are growing, aren't they?
What do you say to Sidonie?

725
00:58:41,160 --> 00:58:43,961
 Hello miss. Hello, Rosalie!

726
00:58:44,560 --> 00:58:46,481
 She's sick.
-Cookie.

727
00:58:46,881 --> 00:58:49,560
 A cookie, sure, no problem.

728
00:58:54,361 --> 00:58:57,040
 Once you've tasted home birth...

729
00:58:58,401 --> 00:59:01,560
 I couldn't go back to the hospital.
That's for sure.

730
00:59:02,160 --> 00:59:04,761
 I know it from
the bottom of my heart,

731
00:59:05,801 --> 00:59:06,841
 I could not.

732
00:59:07,241 --> 00:59:09,361
 It conquered you,
it became part of you.

733
00:59:09,761 --> 00:59:11,881
 I think that the
most difficult thing

734
00:59:12,120 --> 00:59:14,680
 would be to care for
3 women at the same time.

735
00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:21,560
 Does that really happen in hospitals?
-Yes, and that's the problem.

736
00:59:22,241 --> 00:59:24,401
 The problem today is that,

737
00:59:24,640 --> 00:59:29,241
 because the number of births
per midwife has greatly increased,

738
00:59:29,640 --> 00:59:33,721
 most of my colleagues
care for 2 women,

739
00:59:34,120 --> 00:59:35,761
 but sometimes 3.

740
00:59:36,401 --> 00:59:39,761
 In some countries,
particularly England,

741
00:59:40,640 --> 00:59:45,361
 where the female population
as a whole demanded

742
00:59:46,321 --> 00:59:49,200
 that each woman
get one midwife.

743
00:59:49,721 --> 00:59:53,560
 So whether they give birth
at the hospital, in a birth centre

744
00:59:53,961 --> 00:59:56,481
 or at home,
they get one midwife.

745
01:00:12,640 --> 01:00:16,600
 One woman, one midwife!
One woman, one midwife!

746
01:00:25,881 --> 01:00:28,921
 Tomorrow's society
is born in our hands.

747
01:00:29,321 --> 01:00:32,881
 Mistreated midwifes
= endangered babies

748
01:01:06,680 --> 01:01:07,520
 Sido!

749
01:01:07,921 --> 01:01:10,120
 Hi, Jacqueline!
-Did you see my new haircut?

750
01:01:10,520 --> 01:01:13,200
 It's superb, I was
looking at it when I came.

751
01:01:13,600 --> 01:01:16,241
 How are you?
Overloaded with work?

752
01:01:16,640 --> 01:01:19,721
 I just did 3 births
in one week, I'm a little...

753
01:01:22,321 --> 01:01:25,801
 Of course, but it keeps you
going too.  -Sure, it's both.

754
01:01:26,721 --> 01:01:29,560
 But then, it's sometimes hard
to juggle with the family life.

755
01:01:36,040 --> 01:01:40,361
 So, the epidural has caused me
to be called a conservative.

756
01:01:41,080 --> 01:01:46,241
 Because when we started to talk
about it, I dared alluding to the idea that

757
01:01:46,640 --> 01:01:49,921
 perhaps the accompaniment
of women by midwives

758
01:01:50,321 --> 01:01:53,281
 would be affected by
that medical practice.

759
01:01:53,721 --> 01:01:56,761
 I can confirm it,
I have observed it.

760
01:01:57,321 --> 01:02:04,361
 Just recently, I had the opportunity
to see young midwives devastated

761
01:02:05,560 --> 01:02:10,441
 after hearing a woman give birth
making those liberating screams

762
01:02:10,921 --> 01:02:15,721
 we knew of a long time ago
and that you still know.

763
01:02:16,600 --> 01:02:20,200
 The midwives behind the door
asked me: "What happened?"

764
01:02:20,640 --> 01:02:21,721
 When I told them:

765
01:02:21,881 --> 01:02:24,801
 "That woman is actually happy
about the way her birth went",

766
01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:26,961
 they couldn't believe
what I was telling them.

767
01:02:27,441 --> 01:02:30,040
 I wanted to share
a thought that I often have

768
01:02:30,481 --> 01:02:33,200
 when I hear people talking
about pain and pain relief.

769
01:02:33,600 --> 01:02:36,961
 No one talks to women
about what increases pain.

770
01:02:37,520 --> 01:02:39,200
 Because currently, in France,

771
01:02:39,441 --> 01:02:42,801
 61% of women have labour
induced or accelerated

772
01:02:43,361 --> 01:02:45,401
 with products that increase pain,

773
01:02:45,761 --> 01:02:49,801
 that cause artificial contractions which
are very violent, very close together.

774
01:02:50,200 --> 01:02:52,801
 So the woman no
longer has that space

775
01:02:53,040 --> 01:02:55,680
 between 2 contractions
that allows her to breathe.

776
01:02:56,200 --> 01:02:57,721
 And no one tells this to women.

777
01:02:58,241 --> 01:03:00,441
 So they suddenly have
this unmanageable pain

778
01:03:00,761 --> 01:03:02,080
 and they don't
even know why.

779
01:03:02,600 --> 01:03:05,520
 I'm now going to give
the floor to an anesthesiologist

780
01:03:05,921 --> 01:03:08,761
 who was there when the epidural
was introduced in hospitals

781
01:03:09,160 --> 01:03:10,881
 and knows a lot about those issues.

782
01:03:11,600 --> 01:03:13,640
 Behind the closed doors
of one of the birth rooms,

783
01:03:14,040 --> 01:03:17,281
 I hear a labouring woman's
muffled moans at every contraction.

784
01:03:17,680 --> 01:03:19,841
 It's afternoon, why isn't
she calling for me?

785
01:03:20,241 --> 01:03:22,281
 Maybe she doesn't know
she can get an epidural.

786
01:03:22,680 --> 01:03:25,801
 My heart's aching with compassion
and the epidural is itching me.

787
01:03:28,200 --> 01:03:32,401
 I use the excuse that there are
anesthesiology materials in that room

788
01:03:32,801 --> 01:03:35,120
 to knock and enter the room,
pretending I'm looking for something.

789
01:03:35,481 --> 01:03:37,241
 She sees right through me

790
01:03:37,640 --> 01:03:40,321
 and tells me: "Thank you
Jeanne, but I've got this."

791
01:03:42,080 --> 01:03:43,921
 I had received a lesson.

792
01:03:44,321 --> 01:03:47,761
 I was so ashamed of not
having trusted a woman,

793
01:03:48,160 --> 01:03:50,241
 which is to me one of
the basics of human respect.

794
01:03:50,921 --> 01:03:53,441
 And in retrospect,
if I entered that room,

795
01:03:53,761 --> 01:03:56,520
 it was because I was
the one who needed relief.

796
01:03:58,080 --> 01:04:00,640
 Where do they get a chance
to be themselves these days,

797
01:04:01,040 --> 01:04:06,361
 since they're systematically
given an epidural in 80% of cases.

798
01:04:06,921 --> 01:04:09,200
 What discovery are we
depriving them of when,

799
01:04:09,401 --> 01:04:11,361
 without even asking
for their opinion,

800
01:04:11,600 --> 01:04:13,680
 we eliminate that pain
that is so dreaded,

801
01:04:13,881 --> 01:04:16,000
 yet such an enriching
learning experience

802
01:04:16,241 --> 01:04:18,441
 and unpredictable
in its intensity.

803
01:04:18,921 --> 01:04:21,401
 Finally, before I conclude,
I'd like to clear away any ambiguity

804
01:04:21,600 --> 01:04:23,241
 that might make you think
that I advocate pain.

805
01:04:23,441 --> 01:04:25,160
 This pain that
devastates some women

806
01:04:25,361 --> 01:04:28,281
 and of which the horrible memory
haunts them for the rest of their lives.

807
01:04:28,520 --> 01:04:29,841
 I loved my job,

808
01:04:30,040 --> 01:04:33,241
 even though I was wary of the almighty
power this practice could've given me.

809
01:04:33,640 --> 01:04:36,640
 Similarly, although the right
to abortion was a victory,

810
01:04:36,881 --> 01:04:38,761
 abortion itself rarely is.

811
01:04:39,200 --> 01:04:42,000
 So was the access to epidurals,

812
01:04:42,721 --> 01:04:46,160
 but when it becomes systematic,
if not mandatory...

813
01:04:47,761 --> 01:04:48,881
 Thank you.

814
01:04:54,600 --> 01:04:59,520
 We know, statistically,
that roughly 80% of women

815
01:04:59,921 --> 01:05:04,321
 have normal pregnancies and
can give birth to their child

816
01:05:04,761 --> 01:05:07,401
 without the need for
any medical technology.

817
01:05:07,801 --> 01:05:13,000
 I believe we really need
to totally change our world vision.

818
01:05:13,481 --> 01:05:16,721
 Which means we absolutely
need to open up the dialogue

819
01:05:17,160 --> 01:05:18,961
 and not put up a brick wall

820
01:05:19,200 --> 01:05:21,921
 between those who work one way
and those who work differently.

821
01:05:22,401 --> 01:05:25,640
 We indeed need to
open more birth centres.

822
01:05:26,040 --> 01:05:32,241
 We need to be able to make home
births much safer in everyone's mind.

823
01:05:32,961 --> 01:05:37,481
 Because it's not crazy, but it needs
to have a good support structure,

824
01:05:37,881 --> 01:05:39,680
 and I have my ideas on that.

825
01:05:40,640 --> 01:05:44,401
 And I believe we should
also open services,

826
01:05:44,961 --> 01:05:49,441
 within hospitals, which are
exclusively dedicated to physiology.

827
01:05:49,801 --> 01:05:52,680
 And that would be
accessible to everyone,

828
01:05:53,080 --> 01:05:56,200
 and not just to those
who have the time and opportunity

829
01:05:56,600 --> 01:05:59,281
 to think about the best
way to welcome their child.

830
01:05:59,680 --> 01:06:05,120
 So it's about truly changing
our vision of healthcare organization.

831
01:06:52,841 --> 01:06:54,560
 You're handling it like a queen!

832
01:07:02,640 --> 01:07:03,721
 Wonderful.

833
01:07:18,680 --> 01:07:20,921
 That's it, stay in the water.

834
01:07:21,520 --> 01:07:22,841
 Stay in the water.

835
01:07:30,160 --> 01:07:31,241
 Hello baby.

836
01:07:31,680 --> 01:07:33,481
 Sit up, Maylis, sit up.

837
01:07:34,361 --> 01:07:36,281
 Look, here's your baby!

838
01:07:39,640 --> 01:07:40,721
 Beautiful.

839
01:07:42,640 --> 01:07:43,841
 Thank you.

840
01:07:45,841 --> 01:07:47,200
 Congratulations.

841
01:07:50,601 --> 01:07:52,200
 Hello, little angel!

842
01:07:54,721 --> 01:07:57,561
 My God, I can't believe I'm done.

843
01:07:58,961 --> 01:08:00,521
 Push yourself up on your hip.

844
01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:02,240
 Enjoy.

845
01:08:05,961 --> 01:08:07,400
 Come, sit over here.

846
01:08:10,681 --> 01:08:13,400
 My God, I just
can't believe it's over!

847
01:08:17,361 --> 01:08:18,761
 It feels so strange.

848
01:08:19,801 --> 01:08:20,761
 Hello, Mom!

849
01:08:21,241 --> 01:08:22,321
 Hello!

850
01:08:32,081 --> 01:08:33,481
 Thank you Muriel.

851
01:08:43,921 --> 01:08:47,201
 Would you like to hold her?
-Wait, she's attached to your cord.

852
01:08:48,841 --> 01:08:50,241
 Oh yes, that's right.

853
01:08:55,761 --> 01:08:56,961
 Just enjoy the moment.

854
01:08:57,401 --> 01:08:59,161
 It just happened so fast!

855
01:08:59,561 --> 01:09:00,961
 Look at your baby.

856
01:09:01,801 --> 01:09:04,161
 I can't believe she's here,
it's so strange.

857
01:09:06,801 --> 01:09:08,681
 Look, she has
little hair like yours.

858
01:09:13,561 --> 01:09:14,961
 Let me place her
against your skin.

859
01:09:18,681 --> 01:09:19,921
 I'll cover her later.

860
01:09:20,201 --> 01:09:22,041
 Are you left or right-handed?
-Right-handed.

861
01:09:23,881 --> 01:09:25,121
 Well, hello daddy!

862
01:09:31,081 --> 01:09:32,481
 Skin to skin is beautiful.

863
01:09:35,801 --> 01:09:37,721
 We'll keep the hat on for 24 hours.

864
01:09:38,881 --> 01:09:40,281
 Yeah, 24h.

865
01:09:41,841 --> 01:09:43,481
 She's gonna drink
from dad pretty soon.

866
01:09:47,241 --> 01:09:48,601
 Congratulations, dad!

867
01:10:22,041 --> 01:10:24,561
 I know that there's already an
enormous amount of midwives

868
01:10:24,921 --> 01:10:26,481
 in the south
who are quitting at once.

869
01:10:26,881 --> 01:10:28,161
 I know.
-You know it.

870
01:10:28,921 --> 01:10:30,521
 In Brittany, they're like....

871
01:10:31,841 --> 01:10:36,441
 I thought a 45.000 euros fine wouldn't
be so bad since we have solidarity.

872
01:10:36,681 --> 01:10:37,881
 That's funny...

873
01:10:38,401 --> 01:10:41,801
 That even if there were risks of jail,
it wouldn't be so bad because...

874
01:10:42,321 --> 01:10:43,961
 It's the prohibition
to practice our profession.

875
01:10:44,361 --> 01:10:46,281
 The prohibition to do our practice...

876
01:10:47,521 --> 01:10:50,081
 I don't know
if it can get to that point.

877
01:10:50,481 --> 01:10:52,761
 We're here to talk about midwives

878
01:10:53,161 --> 01:10:55,721
 who offer
to accompany couples at home

879
01:10:56,201 --> 01:11:00,841
 and many of us have received a letter
from our departmental Councils,

880
01:11:01,481 --> 01:11:04,921
 under the National
Council's advice actually,

881
01:11:05,441 --> 01:11:09,601
 asking midwives to provide
proof of insurance

882
01:11:10,041 --> 01:11:12,481
 specifying that they were indeed
insured for home births.

883
01:11:13,001 --> 01:11:14,241
 The subject is:

884
01:11:14,441 --> 01:11:18,241
 "Illegal practice of home births by
midwives with no insurance coverage.

885
01:11:18,921 --> 01:11:23,121
 Independent health professionals are
required to subscribe to an insurance

886
01:11:23,801 --> 01:11:27,321
 to guarantee them for their civil
and professional liability.

887
01:11:27,681 --> 01:11:31,401
 Failure to comply shall subject them to
disciplinary sanctions imposed by the council.�

888
01:11:31,801 --> 01:11:34,281
 The threat is serious,
very serious.

889
01:11:34,721 --> 01:11:37,721
 What I would like for us to
do tonight, is to say, right now:

890
01:11:38,041 --> 01:11:40,961
 1- that we are sufficiently united;

891
01:11:41,361 --> 01:11:45,601
 2 - what reply do we propose
from each one of us.

892
01:11:46,561 --> 01:11:50,961
 I do not wish to quit overnight,
I really don't wish it.

893
01:11:51,521 --> 01:11:55,241
 We've started telling couples
that we're accompanying

894
01:11:55,481 --> 01:11:57,601
 that we're having difficulties again,

895
01:11:58,161 --> 01:12:02,521
 that we're not sure
if we'll have to stop or not.

896
01:12:03,241 --> 01:12:07,641
 Well I don't want to go to trial,
no one does, I think.

897
01:12:08,041 --> 01:12:10,001
 But I also want to continue.

898
01:12:10,921 --> 01:12:12,721
 I would definitely like to reply,

899
01:12:13,121 --> 01:12:16,761
 because this insurance issue
is still a huge problem.

900
01:12:17,161 --> 01:12:19,721
 And we're not being offered
any solution at this point,

901
01:12:20,001 --> 01:12:21,881
 but the problem
has been brought up.

902
01:12:22,161 --> 01:12:24,681
 Sooner or later we're gonna
have to solve this insurance thing

903
01:12:24,921 --> 01:12:27,881
 because in any case I'm not
comfortable working without insurance.

904
01:12:29,761 --> 01:12:33,001
 I have been very very worried,

905
01:12:33,841 --> 01:12:36,361
 I fluctuate a lot I have to say.

906
01:12:36,881 --> 01:12:40,201
 And the better things go, the more
I tell myself I'm going to continue.

907
01:12:40,641 --> 01:12:43,121
 I must say that termination,
in other words,

908
01:12:43,561 --> 01:12:46,601
 not doing my job anymore
would be really really hard.

909
01:12:47,081 --> 01:12:50,761
 It means that some of us will stop
and others will continue.

910
01:12:51,121 --> 01:12:53,361
 Among all of those
who are going to continue,

911
01:12:53,761 --> 01:12:56,321
 one, two or three
will get caught.

912
01:12:56,721 --> 01:12:59,681
 Today's justice system
allows legal actions

913
01:13:00,081 --> 01:13:03,761
 to be taken only
once someone gets caught.

914
01:13:13,161 --> 01:13:15,161
 So are you ok with this alternative

915
01:13:15,361 --> 01:13:17,761
 of giving birth at the hospital
instead of home?

916
01:13:17,961 --> 01:13:20,521
 No, I'm not OK with it,
but I don't have a choice.

917
01:13:24,001 --> 01:13:26,601
 I hope it takes place in
the best possible conditions.

918
01:13:27,001 --> 01:13:30,001
 Even though my heart is heavy.

919
01:13:32,081 --> 01:13:33,161
 Yeah.

920
01:13:36,281 --> 01:13:38,281
 I'm not happy to be
giving in to the pressure,

921
01:13:39,441 --> 01:13:40,841
 not happy at all.

922
01:13:41,481 --> 01:13:42,761
 In fact I...

923
01:13:45,481 --> 01:13:47,281
 I make myself angry.

924
01:13:49,801 --> 01:13:51,881
 I just feel so alone.

925
01:13:55,921 --> 01:13:58,561
 It's way too much pressure.

926
01:13:59,761 --> 01:14:01,761
 I feel like the weight
on my shoulders is...

927
01:14:10,641 --> 01:14:12,481
 I remember the first
transfer I ever did.

928
01:14:12,881 --> 01:14:15,081
 I invited the doctor to have a chat

929
01:14:15,481 --> 01:14:18,521
 because there was clearly
not a very nice vibe

930
01:14:18,921 --> 01:14:20,641
 when I arrived with the couple.

931
01:14:21,201 --> 01:14:24,201
 So we talked a little and she said:
"Muriel, I just don't understand,

932
01:14:24,601 --> 01:14:26,601
 what's gotten into you?
Why do you do this?"

933
01:14:27,041 --> 01:14:30,121
 I told her: "I'm not crazy,
I do it very carefully."

934
01:14:30,521 --> 01:14:34,281
 Then she says: "But what do
you do if you get a breech baby?

935
01:14:34,881 --> 01:14:36,721
 I tell her:
"I don't do breech at home."

936
01:14:37,121 --> 01:14:39,081
 "Really, what if you get twins?"

937
01:14:39,601 --> 01:14:40,881
 "I don't do them!"

938
01:14:41,281 --> 01:14:45,041
 There's truly a lack of knowledge
about the home birth practice.

939
01:14:45,441 --> 01:14:47,361
 We really only do low risk births.

940
01:14:47,721 --> 01:14:49,961
 I don't understand,
you can't be insured at all?

941
01:14:50,441 --> 01:14:53,481
 Oh sure, sure, we can be insured,
just like OBGYNs, 21,000 euros a year.

942
01:14:53,921 --> 01:14:56,161
 And I don't have 21,000 euros
to pay for my insurance,

943
01:14:57,841 --> 01:14:59,881
 I have to take out
a loan every year!

944
01:15:00,121 --> 01:15:02,161
 And many don't even
earn that much in a year.

945
01:15:02,921 --> 01:15:03,761
 They say it.

946
01:15:04,081 --> 01:15:05,801
 Yes, you have to earn it too.

947
01:15:06,121 --> 01:15:08,441
 And are you insured for the
technical facility?

948
01:15:08,841 --> 01:15:10,641
 410euros
-Per year.

949
01:15:11,041 --> 01:15:12,801
 That's how much you pay?
-Yes.

950
01:15:14,201 --> 01:15:15,921
 It's a real battle for the mothers too,

951
01:15:16,241 --> 01:15:18,481
 even with their families,
their physicians.

952
01:15:18,921 --> 01:15:20,761
 When they say:
"I'm going to give birth at home"...

953
01:15:22,001 --> 01:15:23,161
 What a battle!

954
01:15:24,281 --> 01:15:25,561
 They become outcasts.

955
01:15:28,041 --> 01:15:30,481
 That's another thing that bugs me,

956
01:15:31,041 --> 01:15:33,041
 to be an outcast,
to always be underrated.

957
01:15:33,441 --> 01:15:34,801
 Marginalized.

958
01:15:35,401 --> 01:15:37,801
 Yes, and stopping home births
will allow me to take a breather.

959
01:15:38,281 --> 01:15:39,521
 It'll give you a little break.

960
01:15:39,921 --> 01:15:41,201
 Exactly, I'll get a break.

961
01:15:41,681 --> 01:15:44,601
 We're always suspected
of doing I don't know what.

962
01:15:45,041 --> 01:15:46,881
 Like some kind of witch who...

963
01:15:50,321 --> 01:15:51,801
 It kills me!

964
01:16:03,361 --> 01:16:04,561
 Easy...

965
01:16:05,641 --> 01:16:07,721
 Great! Easy...

966
01:16:09,201 --> 01:16:11,361
 Yes, go Marion, go ahead.

967
01:16:13,321 --> 01:16:14,921
 Oh, your little baby!

968
01:16:28,201 --> 01:16:29,401
 Hello!

969
01:16:36,441 --> 01:16:38,441
 Yes, Yes, come, come!

970
01:20:00,201 --> 01:20:04,561
 Subtitles : Lisa Reutenauer
Anne Debrabandere