The Vermont Birth Experience documentary

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The United States has the highest maternal mortality out of developed countries. The rate is three to four times higher for women of color. With there being a high rate of interventions and unnecessarily high infant and maternal mortality rates, local birth workers wonder what Vermont does differently that makes it so much safer to birth here.

With the takeover of Dartmouth-Hitchcock and so many maternity centers closing, options are becoming more limited, but providers work hard to keep the options that are available at a top level of care.

The important thing in birth is that people have options and that they know their options. We cannot tell parents to trust their gut and then expect them to magically know what option is for them. We need to provide them with education and resources and allow them to make the choice that feels right to them. It takes a village – birth workers and postpartum providers are a huge part of that village!

Jess Kimball, local doula and birth assistant at Sacred Transitions, Monadnock Birth Center, produced a documentary capturing what makes Vermont such a special and safe space to birth. The documentary, titled “The Vermont Birth Experience,” is being shown on SAPA TV sporadically and will show at Springfield Cinemas 3 March 10 at 7 p.m. and March 27 at 1 p.m. It is currently available online on Vimeo for purchase or rental.

All proceeds are going to support families struggling to access doula care. Direct donations to the doula scholarship can be made through the nonprofit Women’s Choice in Care nonprofit, earmarked for Sunflower Postpartum Care, or on Sunflower Postpartum Care’s website, www.sunflowerpostpartumcare.com.

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