Birth in France as undergo revolutions as in no other countries in the world. For the first time, a film will tell us this story: from the painless delivery technique of Fernand Lamaze to the birth without violence of Frederick Leboyer, from the experimentations of the 70’s to the epidural…

80 years of a story that started in the 30’s when the state gave the doctors the mission of fighting against child mortality. An incredible progress, which is also the story of a progressive dispossession for women of this intimate experience.

A film written and directed by Franck Cuvelier
Editing : Dominique Barbier
Documentalist: Valérie Combard
Original music and sound illustration : Alice Guerlot-Kourouklis
Image : Jean-Bernard Mercier, Jean-Christophe Cheneau, Christine Tournadre

A Compagnie des Phares et Balises production
With the participation of France Télévisions
With the support of PROCIREP – Société des Producteurs and ANGOA
and the Centre National du cinéma et de l’image animée

© Cie des Phares & Balises – 2011