Following the film’s release, the hashtag #PartoDoRespeito (Respectful Birth) went viral in Brazil. Women began firing their doctors who refused to discuss natural birth plans. Medical schools reported a surge in students seeking training in obstetrics that included midwifery techniques. In 2015, the Brazilian National Health Agency (ANS) began implementing stricter regulations to curb unnecessary C-sections, specifically requiring doctors to provide women with a written document explaining the medical necessity of the procedure.
Directed by Eduardo Chauvet, Renascimento do Parto (released internationally as Birth Reborn ) landed like a thunderclap in a country known for its "C-section culture." At the time of its release, Brazil boasted one of the highest Cesarean section rates in the world—approaching 85% in the private healthcare sector. The film didn’t just ask "Why?" It whispered a provocative answer: "Because we forgot how to give birth." The documentary opens not with a crying baby, but with statistics that are hard to digest. For decades, Brazil normalized the idea that natural birth was archaic, dangerous, or unnecessarily painful. The narrative, perpetuated by convenience-driven healthcare systems and a society that prized scheduling over spontaneity, turned Cesarean sections into a status symbol. Renascimento do Parto -Birth Reborn-
Birth Reborn is not just a film about having babies. It is a film about power—the power of the medical establishment versus the power of a woman who trusts her body. As one of the interviewed obstetricians states in the closing minutes: "We are not the protagonists of birth. The woman is. We are merely the supporting cast." In 2015, the Brazilian National Health Agency (ANS)
Perhaps most importantly, the film gave voice to a generation of Brazilian women who felt robbed of their birth experience. It validated the trauma of unnecessary surgeries and empowered them to seek VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) when they were told it was impossible. While Birth Reborn is specifically Brazilian, its message is universal. The tension between intervention and patience, efficiency and nature, is a global struggle. In the United States, C-section rates hover around 32%; in the Dominican Republic, they rival Brazil’s numbers. The documentary serves as a cautionary tale about what happens when a healthcare system prioritizes the convenience of the provider over the health of the patient. For decades, Brazil normalized the idea that natural
The film champions practices that were, at the time, considered radical in Brazil: delayed cord clamping, immediate skin-to-skin contact, the "golden hour," and the right to refuse unnecessary interventions like episiotomies or routine amniotomy. Birth Reborn was not received with universal applause. The Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FEBRASGO) pushed back hard. Critics accused the filmmakers of demonizing doctors and romanticizing natural birth to the point of irresponsibility—specifically regarding home births, which the film treats as a viable option for low-risk women.