The Labour of Pain and Joy

Two Finnish birth attendants fight for better conditions for everyone in labour. Midwife Kirsi works at a public hospital but also assists with home births. And doula Anna-Riitta, who trains doulas at Doula Academy emphasizing the importance of consent and self-determination at birth. Intimate and completely unfiltered, Karoliina Gröndahl’s film follows the preparations, expectations and conversations about everything from rights to previous birth experiences and traumas, until the baby is out, the birth is over and life is changed. An eye-opening and important insight into the nature and significance of birth and the enormous and important caring work that midwives and mothers around the world do every day. (CPH:DOX)