Fund Lisa Michelle's short film on rising C-Section rates

My name is Lisa Michelle, and I am a Toronto-based director, performing artist, and filmmaker. Alongside my producer, Monica Iyah Mustelier, I'm raising funds to support the production of a short documentary film called "To The Core", which highlights the rising rates of Cesarean/C-Section Births in Canada.

After giving birth to my daughter via emergency C-Section, I had many unanswered questions that were only heightened after speaking with other new mothers. Many of us felt that our birth stories were needlessly traumatic, ill-informed and with little to no support offered for mental or physical recovery. Even those who had an easier time with the surgery agreed that they were uninformed about C-Sections until it happened to them… even after having dozens of doctor or midwife appointments during the pregnancy.

Interesting stats:

- C-Section births are the #1 surgery performed in Canada - more than heart surgeries, cancer surgeries or any other in-patient surgical procedure

- approximately 1 in 3 births are delivered via C-Section (vs vaginal birth), while it was only 1 in 5 just 20 years ago.

In the film, we will be speaking with mothers, doctors, perinatal therapists and other professionals who have experience with the procedure, to gather a variety of perspectives on the topic. My goal is to understand why the numbers are on the rise, for better or for worse, and share this information with the public to improve health equity for all. I also want to center and validate the experiences of women who have a story to tell.

The money you donate to the project will help us cover the costs of:

Creative team

Film crew

Camera & Lighting equipment rental

Studio rental

Graphic Design / Animators

Legal & Insurance

Colour Grading

We thank you in advance for your generous donation and/or sharing of this campaign!