Sophia Cannonier is inspiring women worldwide to forgo hospitals in favour of giving birth at home in a new documentary about home births.‘5 Countries, 6 Births, 7 Babies’ is produced by California midwife Diana Paul.She is the executive director of home birthing organisation Love Delivers.Ms Cannonier, who is a doula or birthing assistant, set the medical community on its ear in 2006, when she publicly stated she gave birth to her son Ravi, at home with her husband, Michael Watson. Many in the medical community condemned the move, saying it was safer to give birth in the hospital. Ms Cannonier gave birth to two more babies, both daughters, in 2007 and 2009. These births were attended by a midwife. Ms Cannonier also set up her own home birth advocacy group, Conscious Birth Bermuda.Ms Cannonier believes that natural births free of drugs can reduce the infant mortality rate. In 2008, she said that Bermuda’s infant mortality rate of 3.6 deaths per thousand births was still too high it should be zero.The birth of her third child, Inanna, was featured in ‘5 Countries, 6 Births, 7 Babies’.The film also shows births in Guatemala, Costa Rica, France, and the United States. Its goal is to remind women how simple and pure birth can be.“I have been attending and filming births for many years,” said Ms Paul, from her home in California. “It is clear to me that showing powerful images of mothers and babies at birth can reduce ignorance and fear of this natural process. Once fear and ignorance is reduced, a joyful, if not ecstatic, birth is possible.”Ms Paul first met Ms Cannonier when she visited Bermuda for a birthing film conference in 2008. She was so impressed by Ms Cannonier’s determination to change birthing practices in Bermuda, that she invited her to become a Love Delivers advisor.“We seek women in the world who have the knowledge, power and strength that women like Sophia have,” said Ms Paul. “What struck me about her was her confidence in the natural process called birth. She was confident enough in herself and her husband and [their] intuitive knowledge to overcome her fears and overcome a culture enough to give birth on her own.“We are a culture with great fears around birth. This is stirred by the medical profession that makes a lot of money off it. Her heart and soul is with women, babies and families and helping them overcome their fear of birth. She wants to bring together a healthier society.”Ms Paul said she had evidence that Ms Cannonier was influencing the world homebirthing picture.She showed the film at a birthing conference in Europe, after which a midwife from Iceland said seeing images of Ms Cannonier’s birth had inspired her to also contribute to its making.“The midwife said: ‘When I saw that beautiful pregnant woman on the rock and saw the trailer and heard that she spoke on the radio in her country about home birth, I had to contribute’,” said Ms Paul. “Home birth advocates claim that one of the advantages of having babies born naturally and without drugs is that their immune systems are strong after being exposed to the mother’s vaginal flora during the birth process.Love Delivers is still raising money for the production of the film. If they are successful in reaching their financial goals, the film will be released in January. Ms Paul urged Bermudians who supported home birth to make a donation to the film’s production through the website www.kickstarter.com. Donors will receive videos, stickers and T-shirts as a reward.Ms Paul has been involved in the making of several other films about home birth and midwifery including ‘Birth Day’. That film was installed in the Museum of Science in Boston, as part of their exhibit on birth. She also made a film about an Alabama midwife called ‘Miss Margaret’.Ms Paul had three children of her own born at home. Like Ms Cannonier, her first birth was at home without even a midwife.“At the time in California, there were no licensed midwives,” she said. “My husband is a lawyer. He said we could do it this way and not be prosecuted. There were midwives around but we needed to have someone licensed if they were going to attend. I didn’t want to do something illegal but I wanted to have my baby at home. Giving birth at home was the biggest high of my life. I couldn’t talk about it for years, because I was afraid of the way people would think about it or look at me.”For more information visit www.kickstarter.com or www.consciousbirthbermuda.com. A trailer of the film can be viewed at www.youtube. com/user/lovedelivers.