When I first learned that I’m pregnant
It struck me as a surprise
A nice surprise though
What it is mama? You having contractions?
I think it started. I’m not joking
I cannot even describe the pain
It’s something you need to experience to understand
Welcome to this world
“Our Happy Birth Day” and “Happy Birth Day” are two documentaries
Both of them are about reproduction liberty and gentle birth
The reason that a lot of women are afraid of giving birth is seldom mentioned
It’s because the process is just terrible
During the filming
We realized that reproduction education is just too important
And it comes in too late
Documentary film could be a good method of education
I have two kids
5-year-old daughter Vivian and one-year-old son named Damien
I’ve experienced normal delivery in the room and water birth
The water birth was so much better
I feel everything
It wasn’t like that
We filmed 8 mothers
6 of them gave birth at home and 2 in a hospital
99.9% of pregnant women in Taiwan gave birth at hospital
Once you get in the medical system
We become a baby making machine
I’ve heard about too many painful experiences
Enemas, shaving
Over 90% experienced episiotomy
Some got bruises on their belly
2 centimeters, need more time
Lishu is a tough woman
But when it comes to giving birth
She feels vulnerable
There probably is only one person left in her company
They are lonely
And helpless in the room
Push
Vacuum pump
What are we doing now doc
The so called body liberty is to return to your personal feeling
Giving birth is not a disease
We deserve decent treatment while giving birth
Messages should be properly delivered
Head down
Facing the hip of the mom
Midwifes Gao Jiaying and Gao Jiadai
Agreed us to record the entire process of them giving birth
They are trying to prove and practice reproduction liberty
Which they have learned and believe in
Jiaying gave birth at home
She was in labor for two, three days 54 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,200 If it’s not for her sister staying with her
Usually she would be considered as
Stalled labor
And further medical intervention would be introduced
You are doing great
In the concept of gentle reproduction
Everyone around you is your supporter
The partner can hold the mom in his arms
And sway
To relax her hips
And the husband said to his wife
He didn’t expect the pregnancy to be so romantic
Gentle reproduction is still a non-mainstream method in Taiwan
In Europe or Britain where they have a midwifery system
They can give birth midwifery organizations
Or deliver at home
We did discuss this
And Jayden let me decide
Because I wanted to have a natural birth
So I thought water birth would be very suitable
The water relived the pain
And it really calm the mom’s mind
When we arrived at the hospital, they take me to a separate room
I think within two hours, Damien was born
Jayden decided to share this experience with other audience
Across all platforms we uploaded we got over 3.6 million views
And the response was crazy, I didn’t expect that at all
The whole pregnancy and giving birth to a child is one of the most important experience in a woman’s life
We should have the right to choose how we want to deliver our babies
There are many ways
And the core concept is that you should have full command over your body
That the medical treatments are applied on the basis of communication and mutual trust
If so, doing c-section at a hospital
Also counts as gentle reproduction
We started filming in 2013
And ended in 2018
“Our Happy Birth Day” made the finalist of BUSAN International Film Festival
Later we started an alliance
Promoting gentle labor and reproduction liberty
So it’s no longer just a documentary
It has become a force to promote reproduction liberty in Taiwan