Allowed to Birth- MELBOURNE, VIC documentary screening PLUS Q&A panel

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Join Us for Allowed to Birth - Documentary Screening + Q&A Panel!

Allowed to Birth is a powerful new documentary following midwife and educator Kristine Lauria, exploring the global maternal health crisis and what it would take to make childbirth safer, more humane, and more empowering for all. Featuring leading voices in the birth world including Dr Melanie Jackson, Dr Stu Fischbein, Kemi Johnson and more.

Join us in Melbourne for a special screening, community connection, followed by a live Q&A panel with experts to be announced.

🎥 Event Details

📅 Date: Monday, 2nd November 2026

⏱️ Time: 630pm- 830pm

📍Location: The Astor Theatre. 1 Chapel St, St Kilda VIC 3182

Babies in arms welcome

Across cultures and continents, birth is both a universal experience and a deeply personal journey, yet for millions it has become increasingly shaped by systems of control, risk, and intervention.

This documentary explores the global landscape of childbirth, revealing the growing maternal health crisis and the projound impact of the medicalization of birth.

Through intimate stories and cross-cultural perspectives, the film examines how modern obstetric practices (while often lifesaving) have transformed a natural process into a highly mangaged medical event. It questions whether this shift has always served mothers and babies, or if it has, in some cases, distanced them from safer, more holistic care.

At the heart of the film is the life and work of midwife and educator Kristine Lauria, whose approach…