Must-See Movies for Pregnant Women, Expecting Parents, and Caregivers of Infants

This week I attended An Evening with Mothers In Film at the Tribeca Film Center for the national premiere of two great new independent documentaries, My Toxic Baby and Latching On: The Politics of Breastfeeding in America, presented by Women Make Movies and New York Women In Film and Television. (My Toxic Baby had its international premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival but here it was shown for the first time in the U.S.)

These are must-see films for pregnant women, expecting parents, and caregivers of infants alike.

Latching On: The Politics of Breastfeeding in America

This film by Katja Esson explores breastfeeding in the United States, from working moms who pump in the office bathroom and women who breastfeed in public to lactation consultants, pediatricians and the billion dollar formula industry. It incorporates a diverse spectrum of experiences of women from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds, providing an eye-opening account of the obstacles and rewards.

My Toxic Baby

In Min Sook Lee's film, she documents her journey as a new mom trying to provide a safe and non-toxic environment for her baby. She addresses infant formula contaminated with bisphenyl-A and melamine, industrial foods served in day care centers, parents concerned about the adverse effects of vaccines, and products like baby bottles, toys, soap and even infant mattresses found to contain lead and poisonous plastics. She also explores Elimination Communication (EC), a method of diaper-free infant toilet training.

Elimination Communication is practiced throughout the world and although uncommon in the United States, globally, more parents use it than don't. (In some countries, like China, parents who use diapers instead of EC are actually frowned upon.)

It is estimated that over 27 billion single-use diapers are consumed every year in the United States and nearly all of them end up in landfills. Not only does EC save money and reduce environmental pollution from disposable diaper waste and detergents used to clean cloth diapers, but it is better for babies.

EC also helps develop good communication between infants and caregivers, eliminates skin irritation and diaper rash, and reduces exposure to chemicals found in single-use diapers like Dioxin, Tributyl-tin (TBT), and sodium polyacrylate. It's easy to see that babies prefer EC to sitting in soiled diapers, and parents like not having to change them. So everyone is happy.