Episode 24- Born at Home with Amanda Banks and Eleanor Currie

If you have only ever seen birth on TV shows and movies you’ll notice it tends to go for drama and often portrays birth as a medical, painful and dramatic event right? But is this really what birth is like?

Most people have never seen what a physiological birth can actually look like- let alone a home birth. If this is so, they have not seen the POWER, the MAGIC and the HEALING ability that birth truly can be. 

Finally, we have a film that shows us what birth can truly look like.

Born at Home is a stunning documentary film exploring what it takes to have a positive and transformative birth experience and emphasises that where and how women choose to birth matters.

So today we are joined with Producer and co creator Amanda Banks and Eleanor Currie -co creator as well as documentary filmmaker, videographer, photographer of this incredible film.

If you are wishing to explore the possibilities of birth and learn about the different choices available, then this is the episode for you.

In this episode we chat about;

• The creative process behind the scenes of this film
• The overall message or “feeling” that they wanted this film to portray
• Eleanor shares her traumatic birth experience with her first baby and how making this film empowered her to have her own home VBAC!
• What inspired Amanda to make this film a reality
• The incredible panels that they produce at screenings in Australia

And so much more.

Amanda Banks

Co-creator + Producer

Amanda is mother of two children, both born at home. She has always had a passion for health which led her to complete a Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture) and now works as an Acupuncturist in Brisbane, supporting families through fertility, pregnancy and beyond for over 8 years. Amanda was the former Convenor for Homebirth QLD for 2.5 years until mid 2023 and worked as a maternity consumer representative on the QLD Normal Birth Strategy.

Empowered by the homebirth of her second child in 2020, Amanda together with long term dear friend Eleanor, set out to create a film exploring Homebirth in QLD.

She is the co-creator and Producer of Born at Home.

Supporting women has always been a passion of hers and after absorbing current research on the mainstream maternity system working with Homebirth QLD, she was driven to advocate for evidence based maternity care, women’s rights and access to safe birthing options and education. Amanda believes in the physiological process of birth, that birth is a rite of passage and a positive, supported birth experience can create a mother who feels confident in herself and in her parenting journey, amongst many other beneficial maternal and infant outcomes

Eleanor Currie

Co Creator and Filmaker

Eleanor Currie is a documentary filmmaker, videographer, photographer and mother of two beautiful children.

She has a passion for telling stories about the human experience. Her newest film ‘Born At Home’ (created with long-term friend, Amanda Banks) explores the emotional journey of homebirth.

After a long and difficult first birth in hospital with many unwanted interventions, Eleanor became pregnant with her second child whilst filming.

Following the interviews with birthing experts, midwives, educators and filming a homebirth first hand, Eleanor decided homebirth was the best choice for her and went on to have her second child at home in a birthing pool. The magic of this experience gave the film a deeper meaning and brought another level of authenticity to the project.

Resources

• Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage: Weaving ancient wisdom with modern knowledge by Dr Rachel Reed PhD
•  Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr Sarah Buckley
• The Midwives Cauldron Podcast

Listen here

Follow me on Instagram;

the_pregnancy_collective

Check out Born at Home over at;

www.bornathomefilm.com.au

Follow on Instagram at;

@bornathomefilm

If you have the chance to see this film on the big screen I highly encourage you too- or bring a screening to your own town through demands films which we chat about in this episode and you can check out HERE.

Please note; all information shared on this Podcast by myself or guests is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice.