Childbirth choices take center stage with BOLD Fort Worth's production of Birth

Aug. 12, 2011 - PRLog -- WHEN: SEPTEMBER 23-24, 2011
WHERE: The Bob Duncan Center, located centrally in the metroplex at 2800 South Center Street, Arlington, TX, within Vandergriff Park
ADVANCE TICKETS:  $  10    (available through www.boldfortworth.org)
AT THE DOOR:  $  15

Fort Worth, TX -  BOLD Fort Worth is hosting a September parenting event focusing on mother-friendly childbirth choices. The 2nd annual DFW production of Birth, a play by Karen Brody, opens September 23, with two evening performances and a "cry-baby" matinee for parents of small infants. Parents and caregivers can also shop and learn at the free Birth and Family Expo on September 24th from 11AM - 6PM.

All proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships will benefit the Tarrant County Birth Network. The event is part of BOLD (Birth on Labor Day), a global arts-based movement aspiring to create childbirth choices for mothers around the world.

“Childbirth today is a human rights issue for low-risk pregnant mothers,” states author Brody, who spent a year interviewing over 100 low risk women before writing her play. “Choices in childbirth have been severely restricted for this large population of pregnant women despite strong evidence-based research supporting a wide variety of birth choices.”

Brody founded BOLD in 2006 with the intention to use her play to raise awareness and money that promotes childbirth choices that work for mothers. As Brody explains, “Pregnancy today is typically viewed as an illness and emergency. BOLD uses theatre to raise people’s consciousness that childbirth is normal. Once this is recognized people will start demanding a childbirth model of care that is compassionate, evidence-based and puts the mother at the center of her birth experience.”

Producer Shannon Blackwell became interested in the play after the birth of her second child in 2009.

"My two different births and the care I received during my pregnancies from my providers showed me the huge difference in experience a woman can have," she states. "Being educated and knowing your options are significant factors in walking away from a birth feeling empowered. It is a milestone in a woman's life and we should celebrate that."

Blackwell recruited Christi Moore-Murphy, an established theatre director and long time friend, to direct “Birth” after Moore-Murphy delivered her second child via emergency c-section earlier that year.

"We have an amazing group of actors, an unbelievably talented director and a fabulous group of volunteers who are coming together  to change the way Fort Worth views birth," Blackwell continues. "And the best part is that our advocacy efforts will continue through the funds we raise for the Birth Network."

Since 2006 nearly 100 BOLD locations have raised over $130,000 for childbirth organizations. Tickets are available online at www.boldfortworth.org. The play is PG-13 and not recommended for younger children.

The Tarrant County Birth Network is a chapter of 501c3 nonprofit BirthNetwork National, whose mission is to provide advocacy for improved maternity care for expectant families in Tarrant County.

# # #

BOLD Fort Worth is a group of (mostly) women in the DFW area joining others around the world in September 2011 in performing the play, Birth, by Karen Brody. The event is held in conjunction with a Birth & Parenting Expo and benefits the Tarrant County Birth Network.