Director Abby Epstein is clearly biased in favor of home birth, but that doesn't make her case any less square.

Passionate, enlightening and unabashedly one-sided, Abby Epstein's documentary is not for everyone. But at the very least, it should be seen by every pregnant woman in America.

[Director] Epstein's opinion on the issue is never in doubt and once the attitude of the film is established, it seems to make the same points repeatedly. Fortunately, Epstein herself gets pregnant, and she gets to test her own theories.

No one, male or female, pregnant or childless, who sees The Business of Being Born will ever see the hospital maternity ward as a normal environment again.

As issue docs go, The Business Of Being Born is about as well-put-together and non-aggravating as the genre can get -- which isn't saying much, but it's still a small victory.

I sure left the theatre convinced: It's natural all the way for me. Jeeves, draw me a bath.

It's a serious and well-researched consideration of natural childbearing vs. hospital delivery that explores the larger social conditions and assumptions that shape women's choices.

A supposed investigation into America's attitude toward childbirth, The Business of Being Born quickly turns into a propaganda piece for midwifery before closing on a fortuitously complex note.

A wonderful piece of filmmaking and a top viewing priority for those even entertaining the idea of bringing a new life into the world.