What the Experts Are
Saying About the WATER BABY Video:
"This film opens both the viewer's heart and mind to a whole new
possibility for humankind - gentle birth in water producing a peaceful
people and world. A remarkably sensitive and illuminating film. Highly
recommended."
- Rick Ingrasci, MD, Past
President
Association of Humanistic Psychology
"WATER BABY is an amazing film. I watched it with my 17 year old
daughter who, up to then, had been afraid of labor and birth. But after
viewing the peaceful, calm and beautiful faces of both mothers and their
babies at birth, she was excited and exclaimed, "How beautiful!"
Everyone interested in supporting the optimal health of mothers and
babies needs to see this uplifting and transformational film."
- Christiane Northrup, MD, Author
"Women's Bodies,
Women's Wisdom"
"The single best source of information on water birth that I've
experienced. Both inspirational and educational. Done with objectivity
and sensitivity, it held my attention like a magnet. A must for all
parents and health professionals who are interested in exploring optimal
methods of birthing."
- Ronald Valle, PhD, Past
Dean
School of Consciousness Studies, JFK University
"WATER BABY is an excellent, informative, educational tool comprising
the most complete information available worldwide on this new gentle
birth method. As a mother of two water babies, I say 'thank you,
Karil'."
- Barbara Harper, RN
Former SW Dir.,
American Holistic Nurses Assn.
"A responsible and beautifully conceived presentation."
-
Rick Kozlenko, DPM, Mill Valley, CA
"Marvelous, absolutely super!"
- Jessica
Mitford
Author of "The American Way of Birth"
"Enlightening and thrilling."
- Jessica Berger
American Medical Women's Association
New York University Medical
Center
"WATER BABY is exciting, well balanced and should be seen by all
pregnant women and the professionals who attend them. For her last
pregnancy my wife labored in water and found it very helpful. Had we
seen this film three months earlier, I would have urged her to deliver
our third baby in water."
- Richard Shames, MD,
Mill Valley, CA
"WATER BABY is a fascinating film done in an objective and even-handed
manner. It presents an interesting new approach to birthing which seems
to empower women and may result in major positive changes in their
self-image. This unique film challenges current birthing practices and
convinced me that water birth could be a useful addition to modern
obstetrics."
- Mark M. Jacobs, MD, Associate
Professor
Dept. OB/GYN & Reproductive Sciences, UCSF
"By creating this educational video about water birth, Karil Daniels has
ushered us one step closer to a peaceful world . . . this film is a must
for anyone interested in exploring water birthing."
- Lee
Perry, Editor
Whole Life Times, Los Angeles
"The most intriguing of the new birth films . . .WATER BABY will forever
change the way we encounter birth . . . the best investigative reporting
. . . my highest recommend."
- Jeanine Parvati
Baker, Author
"Prenatal Yoga & Natural Birth" and other
birth books
" . . . WATER BABY will knock your socks off . . . an important
film."
- Lori Woolpert, Reviewer, Whole Earth
Review
"Very interesting. Great to learn about new concepts. This film
created more curiosity and discussion than perhaps any other film we
have shown."
- Monongalia General Hospital
"Karil Daniels has created a beautiful and informative video on
waterbirthing, which may just be the best way to deliver a baby. If you
are going to have a baby, check this out!"
- William S.
Eidelman, MD
"A beautiful, sensitive presentation . . . WATER BABY is an important
film that makes a valuable contribution not only to the individual
viewers, but also to the field of human development as it invites
further study into the effects of a waterbirth experience on the growth
of the child."
- Jonathan Parker, PhD, Founder
Institute of Human Development
" . . . technically excellent while sensitive. This video presents a
complete view, both pro and con, of this new alternative birthing
method, in a logical and cogent manner."
- Mary Foley,
RN, Health Education Coord.
Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New
York City
"Absolutely fascinating."
- Roberta Scaer,
Co-author
''A Good Birth, A Safe Birth''
"I delivered probably close to a hundred babies as a doctor during my
medical training and birthed two of my own, yet WATER BABY taught me
something new. If I were coming into the world as a baby, this would be
a wonderful way to do it. I wish that my children and I could have had
the experience of birth I saw in the film."
- Jean Shinoda
Bolen, MD
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF
Author
of ''Goddesses in Everywoman''
" . . . sensitive and intelligent . . . "
-Columbus Video
Festival
Blue Ribbon, "Best of the Best of Columbus"
"This film is an excellent presentation of the practice of waterbirth in
the world today. I highly recommend it for prospective parents and
birth attendants interested in this important subject."
-Dr.
Mary Davenport
Obstetrician, Berkeley, CA
"Ms. Daniels' film WATER BABY displays her unique perspective and
unusually sensitive approach to depiction of alternative birthing
methods. I was struck by the depth of her attention to detail, ability
to convey a complex message with clarity and understanding, and special
thoughtfulness regarding the subject matter at hand."
-Kenneth Jaffe, Executive Director
International
Child Resource Institute
"WATER BABY is a wonderful film exploring various family's experiences
with labor and birth in water. Many settings are shown: birth in the
home, birth center, and hospital. Featured experts are Igor Charkovsky,
a pioneering Soviet researcher who developed water birth in the 1960's;
Michel Odent, MD, of France, a world authority in gentle and water
births; and Michael Rosenthal, MD, the first American doctor to provide
a birth center featuring labor and birth in the water. Many waterbirth
couples are interviewed and births shown. Igor Charkovsky's water
training exercises for pregnant women and children are a delight to
watch . . . This film is an excellent introduction for new parents to
the joys of labor and birth in water. We highly recommend it to you
with the provision that we do not support keeping the baby submerged in
water following the birth."
-Susan Thomforde,
CNM
North Shore Birth Center, Beverly, MA
"The most beautiful birth film I've ever seen."
- Barbara
Zahm, PhD, Anthropologist
"I found WATER BABY to be informative and quite touching. A wonderful
tool to encourage women to evaluate their gentle birth options. The
audience loved it!"
- Amy Levine, Program
Coordinator
UCSF Women's Center
"High quality production values and editing . . . nice graphics and
effects . . . the use of water as a leitmotiv was extremely effective .
. . Such inventiveness is always refreshing, especially in the
documentary genre. The program pulls no punches . . ."
- Ron
Marins, Reviewer
EITV (Educational Industrial TV
Magazine)
"An important film to show to instruct new mothers about new
alternatives in the childbirth experience. The water baby may be the
child of the future."
- Educational Film Library,
Content Specialist
"It's the most incredible gentle birth film I've ever seen. Really
fantastic!"
- Dennis Jaffee, PhD, Past
President
Association of Humanistic Psychology
"WATER BABY is a joyous videotape. I was fortunate to see it early in my
first pregnancy. Its strong, positive imagery was never far from my
mind in the months to follow."
- Julie Mackaman,
Past Co-director
Film Arts Foundation
" . . . absolutely fascinating. I admire its geographical scope, the
patience that was obviously required to achieve the footage, the tact
and compassion needed to obtain the full cooperation of the women, but
above all the balance and clarity of the exposition of a controversial
subject."
- Charles Champlin, Film reviewer
Los
Angeles Times
"A beautiful film which enhances the premise that women instinctively
know how to birth . . . very well suited for adults and school science
classes who seek knowledge of varied methods of childbirth."
- Helen S. Gaevert, Ed.D., Reviewer
Science Books &
Films
"A fascinating and provocative film. The photography, the music and the
quiet narration are themselves conducive to gentle birthing.
Waterbirthing is brought to the viewer objectively, stimulating thoughts
and feelings and presenting very artfully some of the newest information
regarding labor and birth in water."
- Journal of Nurse
Midwifery
"Hypnotic . . . international scope and appeal. Recommended for use
with nursing students and prospective parents."
- E.R.
Paterson, RN, State Univ. of NY
in a review for CHOICE, a
publication of the
American Library Association
" . . . very well received by the group, who rated it 4.5 on a scale of
1 to 5, and found it fascinating and informative."
- Lezli
A. Redmond
Information Systems Coordinator
Planned
Parenthood Federation of America
"WATER BABY is an artistically executed video that educates the viewer
to the caring gentleness of water birthing. It tantalized me by
presenting a technology that could clearly increase well being and
health in all who participate."
- Walter E. Jessen,
PhD
Psychotherapy & Growth Center, San Jose, CA
"Karil Daniels' film WATER BABY: EXPERIENCES OF WATER BIRTH does a
wonderful job of presenting a balanced, realistic and inspiring view of
underwater birthing. Karil manages simultaneously to be an effective
cheerleader and objective documentarian. Parents and professionals won't
find a better overview of water birthing."
- Steve
Raymond, Editor
Pre & Peri-Natal Psychology Assn.
News
" . . . an excellent composition . . . photographic characteristics are
outstanding."
- Margery Simchak, Reviewer
"Bay Area filmmaker Karil Daniels' fluid hour-long documentary takes a
positive view of the process, and several quietly exciting and
apparently near painless on screen water births, to a voiceover of
physician and former patients discussing the process, efficiently solve
the talking heads problem of most documentaries."
- Naomi
Wise, Reviewer
The Berkeley Monthly
". . . filmed sensitively by Karil Daniels. A remarkable trust and
sense of dignity pervaded the experience of these women who were allowed
to choose their own pace of birthing rather than find themselves
scheduled into a pre-conceived time frame."
- Mary
Dowd, Reviewer for PLEXUS
"From watching the film I got a chance to experience the process of
giving birth more than any other time in my life. As a man, I'm
impressed."
- Dana Ullman, MPH
"This film is a splendid introduction to the topic of waterbirth."
- Stanley Krippner, PhD
Professor of Psychology,
Saybrook Institute
"I was moved by the uniqueness of the approach and the sensitivity to
the people involved. The concern and caring about the baby and the
birth experience made me want to re-experience the birth process and
certainly assist others to learn about this powerful new way to bring
babies into the world safely and securely."
-Stevanne
Auerbach, PhD, Exec. Dir.
Institute for Childhood
Resources
"Thanks so much for sending me the Water Baby tape so promptly. I've
already watched it twice! The Resources List is loaded with helpful
contacts and I am in the process of writing to the people in my
area.
-Expectant Mother
"Thanks again for providing the world with such a beautiful and
informational film about birth. I'll keep you posted on my journey to
motherhood."
-Jenean Estigoy, Expectant Mom
[You can email filmmaker Karil
Daniels here, to order your copy of the
"WATER BABY: Experiences of
Waterbirth" video.]
