Allowed to Birth- BRISBANE, QLD documentary screening PLUS Live Q&A panel

Across cultures and continents, birth has become shaped by systems of control and intervention. A documentary on the maternal health crisis
About this Event

Join Us for Allowed to Birth - Documentary Screening + Live 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 Brisbane for a special screening, community connection, followed by a live Q&A panel with experts;

• Dr Oscar Serrallach (MBChB FRACGP) is an integrative GP, author of The Postnatal Depletion Cure, and internationally recognised expert in maternal health and postnatal wellbeing. He specialises in postnatal depletion and serves on the Executive Board of the Matrescence Birthing Centre on the Gold Coast, helping pioneer a model of care centred on physiological birth, postpartum recovery, and maternal wellbeing.
• Dr Sarah Buckley is a researcher, author and internationally recognised expert in the hormonal physiology of pregnancy, labour and birth. Medically trained as a GP with qualifications in GP-obstetrics, she holds a PhD from the University of Queensland. Her groundbreaking research explores oxytocin, the hormones of labour and birth, and how maternity interventions can impact physiological processes.
• GeorGina Kelly- homebirth midwife and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner with more than 30 years of experience supporting women and families through pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. She also works with people recovering from birth trauma and midwives, helping them reconnect with their body's innate capacity for healing, resilience and transformation.
• Moran Liviani is a Brisbane-based birth doula, author, HypnoBirthing® Practitioner, Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and birth educator who has supported families through pregnancy, birth and postpartum for more than a decade. Inspired by her own transformative birth experiences, she is passionate about helping women navigate birth with confidence, knowledge and trust in their bodies. Through her work, Moran supports families across home, birth centre and hospital settings, empowering them to make informed choices and create positive, deeply supported birth experiences.
• Azure Rigney is a mother of three, Advocacy Manager at Maternity Choices Australia, and a leading maternity consumer advocate. She represents the voices of birthing families across local, state and federal health committees, contributing to maternity policy, midwifery workforce planning, perinatal safety and women's health reform. Passionate about improving maternity care, Azure works tirelessly to influence policy, challenge the status quo and advocate for evidence-based, woman-centred birth options across Australia.

🎥 Event Details

📅 Date: Sunday 6th September 2026

⏱️ Time:4pm-6pm

📍Location: Five Star Cinema, New Farm QLD, 4001

Babies in arms welcome

A portion of proceeds from this screening will be donated to Homebirth QLD.

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 offers a powerful alternative. Grounded in respect, physiology, and evidence-based care, her work challenges conventional models and reimagines what childbirth can look like when autonomy, trust, and continuity of care are prioritized.

By waving together global insights with one woman's mission, the documentary invites audiences to reconsider how we bring life into the world, and what it would take to make birth safer, more human, and more empowering for all.