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Birth videos for black women

A customer in Malawi has been in touch regarding some videos that she ordered. She was happy with some, but not all of the tapes we sent her, and her main complaint was that none of the birth videos showed black women giving birth. She used one tape with a group, who quickly became bored when the film only showed white women giving birth, and she felt that this was a problem that the film makers should have addressed.

In responding to her, I explained that finding any woman who would allow a camera into the birth was a rarity, especially if the finished film was to be used for public screenings. Her assumption that a video made in Australia would contain black women because we are “pretty multi-ethnic” was perhaps reasonable, except that we have very few black people in Australia and they are very protective of their birth culture. It is completely off limits to men, and women outside their immediate family. Filming them would be impossible and inappropriate.

We are always on the lookout for products that will be of use to our clients. If anyone knows of a good birth film, that shows black women giving birth naturally, and preferably with midwives, please let me know!

In the meantime, I have assured our client in Malawi that she can return the video for a credit or refund, as is our policy. I would dearly love to be able to send her a suitable substitute......

Posted by andrea at June 07, 2005 02:30 PM