Meet the filmmaker

Debra Pascali-Bonaro (Director/Producer) is an internationally renowned childbirth expert, a 26-year speaker in childbirth education, and a Lamaze-certified veteran in maternity care with a passion for birth. She is also the mother of three sons and two stepchildren.

A graduate of McGill University, Debra travels the world working to ensure women and their partners understand their rights related to the circumstances of giving birth. In the U.S. she teaches nursing, midwifery and medical students at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and New York University, has spoken about doula care at the White House, and been instrumental in the development of several hospitals and community-based doula programs. Abroad she provides consultation to H.O.M.E. – a project of the European Community – and works in Brazil to implement doula programs while providing in-services to nurses, midwives, residents and Grand Rounds to physicians at hospitals and universities internationally.

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Debra is Co-Chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative, which works in collaboration with global leaders and groups to reduce maternal and infant mortality and improve care for mothers, babies, and families. She serves on the Board of Directors for Childbirth Connection, and is a DONA approved Doula Trainer. She has co-authored Nurturing Beginnings: Mother Love’s Guide to Postpartum Home Care for Doulas and Outreach Workers and received the Lamaze International Elizabeth Bing Award in 2002.

Debra began videotaping births worldwide, traveling to New Zealand, Mexico, the U.K., South America, and the U.S., to help educate and inspire people to consider their options and the implications of the circumstances of birth for women's and babies' health and well being. Orgasmic Birth is her first film.