PACIFIC MOTHER
Directed by Katherine McRae
Documentary is an illuminating, touching and beautifully photographed exploration of maternity care and birthing choices across the Pacific.in 2019, but absolutely warrants expansion to a feature. It’s fronted by Sachiko Fukumoto, a Japanese-born actress, free diver and activist in the realm of women’s birthing rights who is married to Kiwi world champion free diver William Trubridge. Fukumoto initially pursues the possibility of delivering their first child by water birth in her home country. But Japan – which she discovers once championed ways of natural delivery that did not rely on medical intervention – has since become much more cautious. Advised to give birth here in Aotearoa, she talks to mothers-to-be in Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Hawaii to see how cultural practices and the availability of modern medicine affect women’s choices across the Pacific.
