Birth Wars
A documentary about
who gets to define
how we give birth.
Birth Wars follows midwives and doctors in Mexico as they navigate a deeply rooted conflict over childbirth, healthcare, and the knowledge that shapes birth.
Through intimate stories from Guerrero and Chiapas, the film explores the tensions between medical institutions and traditional midwifery—and asks what becomes possible when different ways of understanding birth meet.
Directed by Janet Jarman
Mexico · Documentary · Spanish with English subtitles · 73 min
WATCH THE TRAILER
Birth Wars: The Book
A story told through another lens.
Birth Wars extends beyond the documentary film.
Janet Jarman’s photography book brings together images and personal narratives from her long-term work documenting childbirth, traditional midwifery, and the struggle for dignified, woman-centered care in Guatemala and Mexico.
Together, the book and film offer two ways into the same larger conversation: whose knowledge is recognized, who gets to make decisions about birth, and what it means to protect the right to give birth with dignity.
