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an expert exposes the sensual side of
BIRTHING
 Sensuality. Caressing. Waves of pleasure. Intimacy.
Passion. These are not the words that
are usually associated with childbirth. And
within the first few moments of viewing the
documentary/film entitled Orgasmic Birth, it
became clear that this was certainly not your
usual film about pregnancy.
Produced, directed and filmed by birthing expert
and educator, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, Orgasmic Birth explores
the relationship between the childbirth process and the sense of
ecstasy one usually feels at the climax of a sexual encounter. The
film’s message throughout is thus: Just as you enjoy sexuality, enjoy
your birth.
Fifty-two year old New Jersey native Pascali-Bonaro, herself a
mother of six, says that it was a combination of her own personal
experience in childbirth and a dream to teach other women about
orgasmic births that inspired her to make the film.
“I was sound asleep and I woke up with an absolute dream and
it was so vivid that I woke my husband up and said I have to make
this film,” she says. “I took film classes and read books (about
making films). It just goes to show that if you have a dream, be
sure to follow it.”
“Undisturbed birth is an integral part of a woman’s sexuality and
a widely neglected human right,” asserts Pascali-Bonaro, adding
that a woman’s body is well prepared to handle birth on its own
without the assistance of medications administered at a hospital.
She points out that during labour and birth, oxytocin, the hormone
of sex and love, rises to peak levels in both mother and baby.
According to this birthing expert, the same elements that would
create a sensuous experience with a lover – dim lights, privacy and
a sense of safety – also facilitate birth.
To complete her documentary, Pascali-Bonaro follows the birthing
journey of several couples, all of whom are willing to capture
their entire process of childbirth on film – from first labour pains
to actual delivery of their bundles of joy. One couple, Tami and
Bill, are quite enthusiastic to share their experience. In their scene,
Tami is on her knees on the back deck of the couple’s home while
in labour, while her husband gently and sensually caresses her
back, neck, arms and legs in order to induce the orgasmic feeling
that Tami eventually gives in to with a loud, feral growl as her baby
boy enters the world.
“It felt natural and good,” Tami says in the interview following
their son’s birth. “I loved it. It was a beautiful family experience.”
In another scene, another couple gives birth to their child after
a series of chanting, deep breathing, hugging and kissing under
dimmed lights. And yet another couple brings their little one into
the world after spending hours of petting, moaning and simultaneous
pelvic movements.
And orgasmic births aren’t just for the benefit of the mothersto-
be. One husband, Kevin, describes the experience as “sensual
and blissful” for both him and his wife.
The film also introduces the medical aspect of orgasmic birth,
with well-known birth specialists, including, among others, Ina
May Gaskin, founder/director of the Farm Midwifery Centre in
Summertown, Tennessee; Marsden Wagner, MD, former director
of Women’s and Children’s Health for the World Health Organisation;
and Obstetrician/gynaecologist and best-selling author,
Christiane Northrup, MD.
“When you allow yourself to open (during birth) in the same
way you open to orgasm, the same experience is possible,” says
Northrup.
In essence, all of the couples in the film have one thing in common
– they all decide to use the assistance of registered midwives
or “doulas” (assistants who provide various forms of non-medical
and non-midwifery support, both physical and emotional in the
childbirth process) to have their births at home rather than at the
hospital; whether it be in the shower, on their back porch or in a
tub of water in their own living rooms.
While the film advocates for the woman’s right to not utilize the
services of a hospital for the purposes of childbirth, it is important
to note, however, that the mother-to-be should seek the advice of
a midwife to ensure that she is healthy enough to give birth without
having to go to a hospital.
Orgasmic Birth is a film in which viewers are asked to rethink
what they think they know about giving birth and the potential it
holds to help a woman soar to new heights throughout the experience.
But if you are a woman who has never experienced an orgasm
during childbirth, don’t despair: Orgasmic births are not for
everyone. Pascali-Bonaro says that the film is only meant to show
women that there is a possible alternative to the pain that birth
can be and that it can, in the end, be a pleasurable feeling. 
- Tricia Henry
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