After wrapping up its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, the new film Genpin is now in competition for the prestigious Golden Shell award at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Award-winning Japanese director Naomi Kawase says of her film,

“I only wanted to show that there are other ways of giving birth” and that “giving life is not necessarily a synonym for suffering, it is also a pleasure.”

Kawase also created the film,“Tarachime -birth/mother-”, which examines the ties of one life to another, based on her own experience of childbirth in 2006 .

Genpin, is being hailed as an artful reflection of the beauty of birth and follows the Japanese obstetrician Dr. Tadashi Yoshimura in his life and practice. In is 40-year career, Dr. Yoshimura has attended 20,000 natural births.

The title, “Genpin,” derives from the words of the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “The valley spirit never dies. It is named the mysterious woman (genpin).”

This film is a celebration the beauty of birth and hopefully the artful package that this story is told in will be powerful enough to create a shift in the current mainstream perception of birth. I have not yet seen this film yet, but hope it makes its way to NYC soon so that I can. If any one has attended a screening during a recent festival, please share your thoughts on the film.

This past Monday, I had the fortunate, thought provoking experience of attending the first annual WIE: Women Inspiration and Enterprise Symposium. The event was spearheaded and hosted by a phenomenal triad of women including Sarah Brown (on behalf of the White Ribbon Alliance(WRA)), Donna Karen and Arianna Huffington. The symposium was held to coincide with a United Nations review summit on the Millennium Development Goals which is also being held this week in New York.

The focus of the symposium was to highlight the work of the White Ribbon Alliance, advocates and leaders around the globe who are making a difference. The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood is an international coalition of individuals and organizations formed to promote increased public awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women and newborns in the developing, as well as, developed countries.

Participants left touched, inspired, empowered and motivated to make a change for girls and women around the globe. Special guest speakers included Melinda Gates, Queen Rania of Jordan and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Director of the Department of State’s new office on Global Women’s Issues and the list goes on to cover more than 40 impressive women. Click here to read more about the participants/panelist.

Many young innovators and entrepreneurs were honored at the event, but I would like to highlight the WIE winner for Creative Vision particularly. Christy Turlington Burns won this deserving award for her film, No Woman, No Cry. In this piece, she shares powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, a post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United States. It is her passion to increase awareness and support for maternal health around the globe so that we as humanity can collectively end unnecessary deaths due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

After the panels and the awards show, Donna Karen along with other designers such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Chloe and Vera Wang to name a few, presented a fashion show in honor of the White Ribbon Alliance. All garments are available for bidding on Charity Buzz. The proceeds will benefit the WRA. The evening was capped off by an uplifting performance by Estelle.

Aside from obvious tips like serving organic & local foods, using eco-friendly wrapping techniques, or sending out evites as opposed to paper invitations, here are a few tips to help you plan you or your friend’s baby shower.

LOCATION

Ambiance definitely sets the mood for your baby shower. If you have a large guest list and your climate provides, a park or garden is a wonderful setting for a shower. If you are like me and live on the east coast where it is currently very chilly outside, if an apartment or house is not available to host the shower, try contacting a local yoga studio. A yoga studio is a great modern venue to hold a shower for the location can also dual as the shower’s main activity. Make sure that the studios you scout out have enough props and chairs for your Guest.

ACTIVITIES

If you have your baby shower at a yoga studio, you can set up a deal with the studio’s manager to have either a reduced rate on a group yoga practice, meditation or even a belly dancing session. You can still have a belly dancing or lead meditation at a home or park, but just make sure that your instructor is prenatal certified. This is a great way to bond and share with friends and loved ones. If you want a more traditional shower activity, you can tap into everyone’s creativity and have guest custom design organic baby onzees using permanent non-toxic markers. It really is a great ice-breaker and fun for the participants and the parents-to-be could definitely use the onzees especially if it their first child. Lastly another great activity to include is to circulate an eco-friendly journal and have guest write letters and wishes for parent(s) and baby.

GIFT IDEAS/ & REGISTRY:

Quite often, many new parents or gift shoppers buy or register for gifts that are either not necessary or unusable for several months or years. Yes, it can be challenging to turn away from that cute little pair of shoes or dress, but at the end of the day parents and baby really can benefit from useful thoughtful gift and necessities. Before creating any registry list or buying gifts, I highly recommend checking out on-line boutique such as Maternitique and Ali Wing’s book, Giggle Guide to Baby Gear. It has charts, checklists, ages when products are necessary, etc.

At the same time, when it comes to gift registry and giving, one does not have to be limited to products. Cleaning services and food delivery certificates/packages can be a great relief for new parents.

GIFT FAVORS

Here are a few ideas for shower keepsakes for your guest.

BLOOMING BABY PLANTABLE SEED FAVORS
$21.00 per set of 12

PEA IN A POD PERSONALIZED SOY CANDLES TRAVEL TINS BABY SHOWER FAVORS
$4.25 each (15 order minimum)

ORGANIC OR VEGAN CHOCOLATES from INTERMPERANTIA
(From $4.65 each and up)

Mama Meditation & Shopping Event at EGG Baby
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
6:00pm – 9:00pm
EGG baby pop-up shop in Dumbo, Brooklyn

Join Tender Shoots Wellness Founder, Latham Thomas, for a guided meditation for moms followed by a shopping soire with EGG Baby and Maternity.
RSVP to press@egg-baby.com

The Pregnant New Yorker Series
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Renew Physical Therapy
149 Madison Avenue, Suite 903
(Btwn 31st and 32nd)
Register

Cara Muhlhahn, as featured in “The Business of Being Born” will be at this month’s Pregnant New Yorker to answer your questions about midwifery and childbirth. I will be discussing and answering questions about being a doula, and other guest will be discussing how to keep fit throughout your pregnancy and after wards. How physical therapy, chiropractic and massage can help you through your pregnancy and the benefits of having a baby nurse. Get easy and economical ways to green your home in preparation for a baby. Plus come see some great products on everything baby and mommy.

The Pregnant New Yorker has put together the best practitioners, products and services in one room for one day. Join in on November 14th!

It’s an opportunity to get expert advice and talk one on one to a variety of practitioners in all aspect relating to pregnancy and babies.

There will be demos, classes, mini consultations, samples, and more. Register today and be eligible to win some amazing raffles!

Eli Manning became a rock star in my eyes when he lead the NY Giants to their Superbowl win in 2008. Now, I will be calling him a hero.

Eli Manning and his wife Abby announced today their undisclosed donation for the new state-of-the-art $10 million dollar Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center at St. Vincent’s. The couple, who currently do not have any children, told the Daily News, “”We wanted to make it a special place to bring new life into the world… For Abby and I, it’s about being part of that, to make sure all the parents have a comfortable experience.”

The center will focus on natural childbirth and holistic care such as acupuncture and is slated to take five-years to complete. This renovation of St. Vincent’s existing obstetrics unit into a state-of-the-art Birthing Center will connect the sciences & compassion. St. Vincent’s has a strong tradition of midwifery, natural childbirth and holistic care. It also has one of the lowest C-section rates in the city. Thom Filicia of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” will be designing the upgrades to the patient rooms, waiting areas and postpartum suites .

The hospital will be holding a Baby Ball at Cipriani,Wall Street on June 18th to raise funds for the center as well. Click here for more information on the event and stay tuned for more information about the new center.

This is very inspiring to see such change in Manhattan.

Help the R Baby Foundation raise funds for grants that have the potential to save thousands of babies’ lives. The R Baby Foundation was co-founded by parents Phyllis & Andrew Rabinowitz. The couple lost their beautiful daughter,Rebecca, after just a few days of birth. Doctors diagnosed her symptoms as a common cold, and she was repeatedly sent home. Had her symptoms been treated, she may still be here today. They as well as the wonderful team behind this non-profit charitable organization are fighting to ensure optimal care for little ones across the country.R Baby Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that newborn babies, primarily those in the first month of life suffering from viral infections and other infectious diseases, receive the highest quality of care and service through supporting education, research, treatment, training and life-saving equipment.

Here are some alarming facts from gathered from the organization’s website:

FACT: 1 in 141 babies die in the U.S. each year. Babies within the first 28 days are twice as likely to die as older babies. Source: Center for Disease Control

FACT: There are approximately 20,000 newborn deaths within their first month of life and close to 30,000 in the first year. Source: WebMD

FACT: Babies born in the US are twice as likely to die than many other developed countries, including Sweden, Japan and Spain; the United States is ranked 36th among 196 nations.
Click Here to see how the US ranks in Infant Mortality Rates…
Source: World Health Organization