Childbirth is often a communal process, with a team of nurses, doctors and loved ones simultaneously witnessing the miracle of life. In one Philippines hospital, “communal” is an understatement.
Ramona S. Diaz’s latest film, Motherland, takes us into one of the busiest maternity wards on Earth. The Sundance Special Jury Award winner premiered on Monday, October 16, 2017 at 10 p.m. (check local listings), on PBS’ POV series. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series, now in its 30th season.
Filled with warmth, humor and heartache, Motherland is a vérité portrait of childbirth—with all its joys and challenges depicted on screen. It is also a fascinating study of a country where conservative Catholic ideas about childbirth and contraception prevail, making the film an ideal starting point for conversations about reproductive healthcare policy.
Overcrowding is the default state of the maternity ward at Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. The Philippines, one of the world’s most populous countries, also has one of the highest birthrates. Patients share not only a large, cavernous room, but beds as well. In the operating rooms, surgeons often attend to four or more women in labor at once.
As chaotic as the hospital seems, Diaz finds an attentive group of nurses, caseworkers and doctors who come up with solutions to problems of scarcity. For example, a doctor explains, “If the baby is really small they should be in an incubator. But since we lack incubators in public hospitals, they came up with this alternative program. Here, mothers constantly hold the baby to their chest for warmth. This innovative practice allows mothers to act as a human incubator.”
Motherland also discovers a sense of community among the mothers. There are no title cards, and we only learn the names and life stories of the women through the camera’s eavesdropping. One woman, Lea Lumanog, didn’t even know she was pregnant with twins until she visited the hospital. Another, Lerma Coronel, one of the older patients in the ward, dispenses advice. Having just given birth to her seventh child while her unemployed husband cares for the others at home, she cautions the younger mothers to avoid having too many children with too little money.
Some mothers stay longer than medically necessary. A nurse explains, “There are so many that can go home, but they don’t have money.” Visits from family members reveal that even the cost of transportation to and from the hospital can be burdensome.
Bills for some patients amount to more than 200 dollars. In a meeting with a social worker, the father of Lumanog’s child explains that he makes about five dollars per day and can only find work two days a week. He is told they qualify for assistance through a program called the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. However, the support does not cover the full hospital bill, so they are left to rely on a loan from his sister.
Motherland also illuminates the country’s policies regarding birth control and the ambiguous role such birth control plays for a deeply traditional and religious population. Ligation, or elective sterilization surgery, is offered to young mothers who have already had six children, although none of the film’s subjects opt for it. During a session with a family planning counselor, one woman is told, “You can’t get a ligation because you only have one baby.” The hospital offers new mothers with fewer children free intrauterine devices (IUDs). These, too, are usually refused, as the women follow their families’ insistence that they not undergo any procedures during their hospital stays.
The end of the film briefly cuts to a press conference the hospital is holding to mark the birth of the 100 millionth Filipino. A doctor expounds on this baby boy’s significance: “Over time, we will look at the situation of this baby… in terms of health services, education, employment opportunities. What we’re after is the development of the population… Inclusive growth, that’s what we want to achieve.”
Filmmaker Diaz said, “The joy felt at Fabella is no different from the joy experienced by mothers and fathers worldwide. But because the film takes place in the Philippines, I invite audiences to witness similar situations from the starkly different perspective of a poor, densely populated, Catholic country. I hope that in viewing this film, audiences will discover the connective tissue that binds us all as members of the global community of caregivers.”
“Motherland is a unique study of the miracle of childbirth,” said Justine Nagan, executive producer/executive director of POV/American Documentary. “Though the birthing experience at Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital is different from the one many Americans have, the film reveals the things shared at this time of life—love, fear and the indescribable joy and apprehensions that hit us when holding a newborn for the first time. Diaz also offers a compelling comparative study of reproductive health policies. When balancing a country’s ambitions against a family’s resources, how do we make sure no one is left behind?”
Motherland will stream online on pov.org through Nov 14.
About the filmmaker:
Ramona S. Diaz is an award-winning Asian-American filmmaker best known for compelling character-driven documentaries that combine a profound appreciation for cinematic aesthetics and potent storytelling. Her films have demonstrated her ability to gain intimate access to the people she films, resulting in keenly observed moments and nuanced narratives. While she has focused exclusively on stories of Filipinos and Filipino Americans, the themes of her stories are universal. Her films have screened and won awards at Sundance Film Festival, Berlinale International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and many other top-tier film festivals. She has received funding from ITVS, Center for Asian American Media, Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, MacArthur Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and Chicken & Egg Pictures. All of her feature-length films—Imelda, The Learning, Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey and Motherland—have broadcast on either POV or Independent Lens on PBS. She has also served on numerous film festival juries and funding panels and served as a film envoy for the American Film Showcase, a joint program of the U.S. Department of State and University of Southern California that brings American films to audiences worldwide. She has conducted master classes and workshops all over the world and throughout the United States. In 2016, Ramona was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Credits:
Director/Producer: Ramona S. Diaz; Producer: Rey Cuerdo; Co-Producer: Leah Marino; Executive Producers for POV: Justine Nagan, Chris White
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