It’s not a simple documentary, it’s a poignant work that grips the bowels. Directed by Léa Fehner, the film is a hymn to human solidarity, to mental and moral resistance, and a real punch that sheds light, if it were still needed, on the difficulty of exercising these essential and vital professions.
“Ostetiche”, the shocking docu-fiction to discover on Arte
From the very first minutes we are directly in the bathtub: the viewer is invited to follow two young midwives, Sofia and Louise, who have just graduated and are starting their first day in a Parisian maternity hospital. They are more specifically assigned to the birthing room, where the births take place, where it all begins. Throughout the docu-fiction, faced with a service on the verge of explosion, infernal speeds, the weight of responsibilities, stress and permanent pressure, they manage as best they can, confronting all kinds of difficulties.
#Jesuismaltraitante, the hashtag sadly still current
If this docu-fiction is so shocking, in addition to its engaging, sensitive, terribly human writing, and the fact that we see real births in it, it is because it is a new symbol of the current hospital crisis in France.
Remember, already in 2020, the shock campaign #Jesuismabusing it had been launched by midwife Anna Roy, who had warned that the lack of means at the public hospital had prompted her to abuse women who gave birth. She later launched a petition calling for more resources for midwives, aided by several journalists and mothers specializing in parenting issues. Their watchword? A woman = a midwife.
Three years later, as this docu-fiction that won the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the last Berlin Film Festival demonstrates, this dramatic topic is still a public health problem, and it hasn’t been resolved.
Between the closures of maternity wards in France, the low remuneration of nursing staff and the recruitment of the latter who struggle to do so, giving birth in France, in good conditions, risks becoming increasingly complicated.
We just have to advise you to watch “Midwives” on Arte, available in replay until August 10, 2023.
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
