Trial Of Labor

More than ninety percent of American women who give birth by Cesarean section will have all future babies surgically. Most will never even be told there is an alternative. Trial of Labor gives a voice to four California women fighting those odds: planning vaginal births after Cesarean (VBAC).

Despite overwhelming support from mainstream medical literature, the option to birth naturally after a Cesarean remains extremely restricted in the U.S, with many hospitals maintaining mandatory surgery policies (“VBAC bans”) for women who have had Cesareans previously. These policies, based primarily on non-medical factors, leave tens of thousands of women every year with no choice in how they give birth.

Directed by Rob Humphreys and executive produced by Elliot Berlin, the film delivers a punch and begs the question of why the demand for cesarean delivery is on the rise. The suspense driven story is crafted from vérité footage and a series of interviews both before and after delivery, that explores the emotional roller coaster of trying to navigate the current system and it’s alternatives. The narrative fast shatters any notion that cesarean might be the easy option.

The women featured in Trial of Labor are determined to birth naturally, but face a gauntlet of self doubt, unresolved feelings about previous births, limited support, and even ultimatums from their care providers. Pacing through a minefield of misinformation the film hints at the epic journey as our heroines face obstacles, overcome doubts, muster courage, gather conviction and prepare to face the future irrespective of the outcome. For them, giving birth is more than just the means to an end: it’s a profound reclaiming of the right to use their own bodies to get there. The film presents the poignant, sometimes messy, reality of their journeys: in their own words, from their own perspectives.