Pregnancy is such a wonderful time! Okay, not always wonderful. Sometimes there’s heartburn, morning sickness, sciatic nerve pain, crazy crying at the drop of a hat, and intense emotions that lead to fear or anxiety. I know, I’ve been there!
You guys followed me on my pregnancy journey with my son Charlie and my son Ethan. I still need to get my birth story done for Ethan and share it with you guys. It was an incredible, life changing event even though he’s my 5th child! Each pregnancy and birth is so unique and so impactful. That’s why I loved the movie 40 Weeks.
40 Weeks Movie
This post is brought to you by the 40 Weeks movie and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own
Pregnancy is a time when expectant moms and dads are seeking all sorts of information about what they’re going through and what is to come. Not only that, but they want to hear from others that have been there, too! Even grandparents, friends, siblings, and neighbors might be wondering about this exciting time in the expectant family’s life.
40 Weeks is made for both moms and dads (and beyond). It presents a beautiful palette of families’ experiences on their journey into parenthood. In the film, universal milestones of pregnancy are presented week by week, hand in hand with the personal experiences of the film’s generous and amazing expectant couples. Their diverse backgrounds, experiences, birth wishes, and feelings will resonate with audiences, reassuring any mom-to-be that she is not alone.
40 Weeks is presented by Big Belli. Big Belli LLC was conceived by husband and wife team Christopher Henze and Dominique Debroux to produce the 40 Weeks movie. It was designed to empower, educate and create a sense of community for expectant moms and those that love them. Henze, director, and Debroux, producer, created 40 Weeks to be a vehicle to offer emotional and informational support to pregnant women as well as present them with trusted products they will need.
The creators of the film went out of their way to make sure that all health care information in the movie is absolutely accurate and current. You’ll be happy to see that 40 Weeks’ key partners include: the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the world’s largest nursing authority dedicated to the health of women and babies, HealthyWomen.org, the nation’s leading independent health information source for women, and the March of Dimes, the most respected non-profit organization dedicated to helping moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies.
Christopher Henze put together a talented group of respected professionals to film, score, edit and craft the movie in an intimate and personal manner. These include executive producer Kurt Engfehr (“Bowling for Columbine”, “Fahrenheit 9/11”, “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”), casting director Lisa Singer (“The Bachelorette”, “Queer Eye”), and editor April Merl (“2012: A Time for change,” “The Yes Men Fix the World”).
My Thoughts on the 40 Weeks Documentary
What I loved most about this film was that it showed all kinds of families with all different expectations and outcomes. While they all ended up with precious new bundles of joy, each of their journeys were completely different. It even showed what kind of family involvement they had, the symptoms the women were experiencing, and the thoughts and fears that were running through their minds.
The couples shared what they were doing to prepare for their new addition. Some of them already had a child, so it went into a bit of detail about how the new little one would fit into their family and showed how the new sibling reacted once the baby was born.
There were natural vaginal births, medicated vaginal births, and cesarean births represented in the film. As you would expect with a real documentary, sometimes things didn’t end up going according to plan. These brave women were transparent with their feelings and fears.
The pregnant mothers in this film were assertive and completely involved with their pregnancies and care. It was neat to see what other women were planning to do, and to see them candidly discussing their pregnancy. It was also neat to see what their partners had to say!
Want a sneak peek at the film, due to come out December 2014? Here it is:
Bring a 40 Weeks Screening to Your Area
Now is your chance to see the film for yourself! Big Belli is partnering with Gathr to bring screenings to theaters across the country. Gathr’s Theatrical On Demand® is a brand new and exciting online crowd-sourcing approach that is rapidly changing film distribution.
To hold a screening in your area, simply go to https://www.40weeksthemovie.com/about-movie/find-screening/ and either sign up to hold a screening or sign up to be notified if one is coming to your area. Big Belli and Gathr will support you in reaching out to your friends, family and community to create a successful event.
Gathr screenings can only happen if a minimum number of people reserve tickets before a screening request expires. On every screening page you’ll find an update that shows you the number of current reservations, the number of additional reservations needed to tip the screening, as well as how much time remains before that screening request expires.
When enough people reserve tickets to a screening before time expires, the screening takes place. If the minimum number of reservations is not met, the screening does not take place and nobody is charged.
#40WeeksMovie Twitter Chat
Join me today for a fun chat with great prizes! I’d love to hear about your own pregnancy experiences. You’ll also learn more about this great film.
What: We are honored to share with you the first-of-its-kind movie on pregnancy! 40 Weeks, a documentary from Big Belli, follows the entire journey of the pregnancy experience, celebrating one of the most powerful things women do. This beautiful, touching and informative film combines personal experiences from expectant mothers with accurate and current information from experts. 40 Weeks helps women educate themselves and feel empowered, supported and connected to each other.
Join this Twitter chat to share your own pregnancy experiences with other moms as we learn more about Big Belli’s movie 40 Weeks, including where to find a screening and how to host your own screenings around the country!
When: Tuesday, November 18 at 2 p.m. ET
Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #40WeeksMovie hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Vite: http://vite.io/themotherhood
Hashtag: #40WeeksMovie
Prizes: We will be giving away five prizes to randomly selected participants who answer the trivia questions correctly. Each prize includes a $50 gift card and some special products that moms will love! Prizes are limited to U.S. participants only.
Hosts: @TheMotherhood, @TheMotherhood25, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann
Co-hosts: @somethewiser, @brettbmartin, @LittleUsBlog, @simplybeingmom, @TaterTwins, @JennsRAQ, @bkeepsushonest, @CoconutRobot, @kaylaaimee, @OurOrdinaryLife, @SeriousKrystyn, @intheknowmom
What did you find most surprising about pregnancy?
