Focus on childbirth

Tauranga residents will be among the first to see a new documentary when it premiers on Thursday.

Freedom for Birth will be screened simultaneously in 1000 locations in more than 50 countries in 17 languages.

Made by British film-making couple Toni Harman and Alex Wakeford, Freedom for Birth tells the story of Hungarian midwife Agnes Gereb who was imprisoned for supporting women during homebirths and the subsequent successful European Court of Human Rights case that has major implications for childbirth around the world.

The 1000 Freedom For Birth premiere screenings will start at a breakfast screening in New Zealand and end in Hawaii.

The day also includes screenings at the Cambridge Film Festival, Yale University, the Motherhood Museum in New York and at the Royal College of Midwives in London.

The Tauranga screening costs $10 per person and will take place at 7pm in a private home in Welcome Bay.

Contact Rachel Benjamin on rachel@mamalish.co.nz for details.