My Favorite Feedback From BOLD's 5th Anniversary

Photo: Judith Rae http://judithrae.com/

I bet you can imagine I get alot of feedback from my play BIRTH and BOLD's 5th anniversary reading of BIRTH was no exception. People told me they cried watching the play, others said they were inspired to have a VBAC watching Sandy's story, many told me they were surprised how non-judgemental the play was, some didn't like the way certain characters were portrayed, or that the actors were holding scripts instead of off-book, and others told me they loved the grassroots nature of BOLD - that anyone anywhere in the world can do a play and have impact no-matter-what.

But there is one email I received that is my favorite. It comes from Dr. Beth Simon, one of the obstetricians in a New York City obstetric practice - OB-GYN Associates - who we honored with a BEing BOLD Obstetric Award. She wrote:

I just wanted to take the opportunity to let you know how much I thoroughly enjoyed your play. As an MD in the natural childbirth circle, I often hear "doctor bashing". It was SO refreshing to hear a play about childbirth that did not portray doctors as evil surgeons, always doing a cesarean section!

Instead, your play displayed the experiences of different women during their childbirth; their decisions regarding the birth of their children. It was about empowering women to make decisions that were good for them, not according to someone else's agenda. Unfortunately, I feel when some people try to promote natural childbirth, they do it with such enthusiasm, it comes across as the only option. It is so important to get the message out to women what natural childbirth is, and what their options are, so women can make educated choices about their pregnancies and their bodies. However, it is not for everyone, and women should not be made to feel badly if it is not for them, which is unfortunately the case sometimes. Instead, your play really focused on women's choices, whatever they were, their journey to discover what was good for them, and discovering their voice to be empowered, and advocate for themselves. In my opinion, THAT is what is important.

Shonda and I wore our "Putting Pregnant Mothers Center Stage" t-shirts to work last Friday, sparking a lot of conversation about your play.

It was a truly wonderful evening.

As you watch the re-broadcast of BOLD's 5th anniversary today my hope is that you too notice the points Dr. Simon makes. To me, this is what being BOLD is all about.