Help for Brazil

Dear friends from CIMS all over the world:

My name is Ricardo Jones, and I am an obstetrician from Brazil.

Some of you already know me from the previous CIMS meetings and the International Forum.

This message is just a break from the important discussion about VBACs.

By the way, I do agree with Helene, Henci and Jan…

But the issue I am trying to bring up is also important for us, in South America and Brazil… and it has to do with…. soap operas.

Yes… In Brasil, soap operas have the same cultural effect that the “sit coms” have in the United States.

Normally, the 9:00 OM soap opera – the mot important of all (we have about six during the day) – brings to debate an important social problem. Last one talked about the blind and handicapped individuals. Some other shows brought the issue of homosexuality (male and female), abortion, legal adoption, euthanasia, etc.

At this new one – PAGINAS DA VIDA – which began about one month ago, (they normally last 5 months) the issue discussed is … HUMANIZATION OF CHILDBIRTH.

The main female character is an obstetrician, named Helena, and from the first chapter (they are daily) she talks to other doctors, nurses and friends about the cesarean epidemic, and the necessity to stop the overuse of technology. So… she’s a humanistic doctor, trying to fight the system.

When things became clear to us we wrote a letter on behalf of ReHuNa (Humanization of Childbirth Network), giving congratulations to the author, director and all the actors by choosing this important matter to be broadcasted to millions of people in Brasil and, further, to other countries. (It is estimated that more than 60 million people watch every daily episode of the soap opera).

Yesterday, “Olivia”, the most important female character in the story, announced that, after “reading some articles”, she is thinking about having a homebirth.

The “most important woman in Brasil” decided to have a homebirth !!!! (just to give you an idea, after the name of the character is chosen by the authors, thousand of children are registered with this name in the register offices thruought the country)

Soap operas in Brazil are built while they are performed. The authors write a draft and collect opinions during the time the show is running. People write to “Globo” (the third greatest Broadcasting Company in the world, after the three americans NBC – CBS and ABC) saying that “The good guy must marry the blonde woman, cause they are both honest an cute”, or that “The gay guys in the show shouldn’t kiss publicly”, and so on…

The idea is to make pressure for the authors and director to show a good and empowering home birth, and an open discussion about it’s advantages, when performed with the help of a skilled professional.

Isn’t that what we are fighting for?

That’s why I am asking your help.

Hundreds of humanistic activists from Brazil are writing e-mails to the “GOBSAT” of Globo to make them aware of our ideas. I, myself, sent dozens of slideshows of homebirths we assisted with the help of a doula, a doctor and a nurse midwife, so that the actors can know what is a birth outside the hospital.

Try to imagine if someone gives us the information that Elaine, in Seinfeld, was going to have a natural and home birth as a part o the show…

Or one of the girls from “Sex and The City”, or even “Friends”… a special episode about “home birth”…

Humm? How about that?

Wouldn’t it be great if the characters show to the public (millions all around the globe) a good vision of our ideas?

My idea is that, if the authoritative guys at Globo receive mails from other countries about home birth, they will understand that we are NOT a group of “granola doctors and nurses” and we are an international group of people, with modern ideas about “autonomy, protagonism, women’s rights and birth safety”, and that we have our opinions based in the best scientific evidences.

The place to give an opinion is http://paginasdavida.globo.com/

In the bottom of the page, at the left, there’s the face of a guy (the director, Jayme Monjardim) and “FALE COM O DIRETOR” (Talk to the director)

Click on that image you’ll go to another page…

The fiels are simple: Nome (Name); Cidade (City) Estado (State) E-mail (oh, give me a break!) País (Country) Idade (Age) and Mensagem (Message)

Say something simple, like: “we, in (USA, France, Canada, Portugal, Mexico, Netherlands, etc…) know you are about to broadcast a home birth. Congratulations !! This is something very important: the debate of out of hospital births, and all the other issues concerning humanization of childbirth…. Signed: Robbie, or Debra, or Helene, pr Jan, or Elena, or Moon Tip, or Mary Zwart, etc… If you can write in Spanish, it would be better, but English is ok too (Remember, we speak Portuguese in Brazil, but almost everyone understands Spanish). The idea is to show them that the eyes of the GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF CHILDBIRTH ACTIVISTS is watching their work.

I think this can become a fantastic step to humanization of chidbirth in Brasil.

More than 60 million people are going to see our ideas on TV, and what is going to be broadcasted will depend on us…

Thank you very much for your attention.

Ric Jones – ReHuNa – Brasil