At Saint Boniface General Hospital in Manitoba two women pass each other in the corridors. Gisèle Fontaine hurries to help women in childbirth, while Louise Saurette attends the dying. Birth and death, moments of transition that involve a transformative journey, have much in common. The midwife and the chaplain offer themselves as guides on the painful and essential path of abandonment. With delicacy and restraint this film reveals the essence of...

In Egypt, a birth ritual called el-sebou', meaning "the seventh", happens on the seventh day following the physical birth of a child of either sex and is celebrated by Coptic and Muslim families of all status groups, rural and urban. Characteristic of this ritual is the gender-linked imagery also manifest in the ritual clay pot. The ceremony celebrates the newborn's crossing a threshold from a neutral gender and status into a world of gender differentiation...

"From executive producers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, this topical new documentary by Brigid Maher examines a growing shift in the birthing industry: the rise of Caesarean sections. With C-section rates dangerously over 30% in America, are midwives the solution? In recent years, the idea of a 'collaborative care' practice where doctors and midwives manage women's care together has begun to gain traction. Research has demonstrated that collaborative...