Special Delivery
Recent years have seen a deepening divide in attitudes towards maternity care. On one side are the (mainly male) obstetricians, who believe against all evidence that “high tech” birthing equals a low mortality rate and often apply it without selection, evaluation or reference to mothers. On the other side are the midwives who want a safe but sensitive service that sees childbirth as part of life, not disease.
‘Special Delivery’ seeks to discover why an experience so essentially female still has its rules made by men. Using documentary, drama and archive footage, it focuses on the role of the midwife who, throughout history, has found herself on the front line, battling with the “medical norm” for better care and understanding of women during childbirth.
Description Source: Cinenova Catalogue (1994). Edited by Kate Norrish. Editorial committee: Elaine Burrows, Liane Harris, Helen de Witt