Brigid Maher, a tenured, associate professor of Film and Media Arts Division in the School of Communication at American University will soon be releasing a documentary about the health benefits and advantages of midwifery care for women with a prior cesarean.
The Mama Sherpas is a feature-length documentary film about women receiving their maternity care through midwife-doctor teams. For two years Maher followed nurse midwives, the doctors they work with, and their patients to provide an investigative lens into how midwives work within the hospital system. The official TRAILER has just been released. 
A Sherpa refers to a member of a Tibetan people living on the high southern slopes of the Himalayas in Eastern Nepal known for providing support for foreign trekkers and mountain climbers. Here, it is the midwives who are the sherpas or guides for the expectant mothers’ journey through pregnancy, labor and birth.
Evidence shows that collaborative care reduces interventions, lowers cesarean rates and improves health outcomes. Maher was inspired to make the film after her VBAC of a 9 pound 10 ounce daughter. She knew that the midwifery model of care she received made all the difference and wanted women with a prior cesarean to know about their options for care providers.
Why is this film important?
About one in three babies are born by C-section today, though the World HealthOrganization recommends that the best outcomes for mothers and babies are achieved when that rate remains below 15%. Additionally, according to the Center for Disease Control, the U.S. has one of the highest infant mortality rates among industrialized countries.
How can these disturbing trends be reversed?
In recent years, the idea of a “collaborative care” practice where doctors and midwives manage women’s care together has begun to gain traction in the U.S. So far, research has demonstrated that collaborative care models produce better outcomes for mother and baby, including fewer C-sections.
Maher and her team plan to release the film in the fall of 2015. You can follow The Mama Sherpas on the film’s website where you can read several of the mothers’ birth stories and check Facebook and Twitter for updates on the film’s world premiere.
It can be done! Here’s my story: http://fitfabulousmom.blogspot.com/2015/05/my-vbac-story.html