On Thursday, September 20th, 2012 there will be hundreds of screenings worldwide of the new documentary Freedom For Birth. Twyla Kowalenko, a local mother and passionate birth advocate and I will be screening the film at the Centre for Social Innovation, Annex at 7pm (more details on location below) as part of the global premiere.

Freedom for Birth is a call to action. It focuses on childbirth as the most pressing human rights issue today, one which is being ignored in many countries, the world over. The film is a 60-minute campaigning documentary that takes a look at how we are failing to meet women’s basic rights in labour all over the world, rights that many women are not even aware they have. Millions of women and babies are being denied the right to a safe childbirth and One World Birth, the group behind this documentary, hopes to help inform millions of women of their legal rights and spark a revolution in maternity care worldwide. They are calling for a Mothers’ Revolution.

Birth will change when women realise they have a right to meaningful support for childbirth and claim that right. Birth will change when women stand up against the abuses that are currently suffered in such high numbers and say, no more.

Seating will be limited, so please RSVP to heather@socialinnovation.ca. In addition to our screening at the Centre for Social Innovation, the Association of Ryerson Midwifery Students is also hosting a screening on the 20th. Our screening will be followed by light refreshments and an informal discussion of our current birth culture here in Ontario and how it stacks up against other parts of the world, along with brainstorming ideas for affecting change both locally and globally.

The Centre for Social Innovation is located at 720 Bathurst St., Toronto. Just a block and a half south of Bathurst subway station. The screening will be held in Meeting Room 1 on the second floor at 7pm.

Save Birth. Change the World.

Related: Check out this Toronto Star article about the upcoming Toronto screenings!