‘In the past, every woman would give birth at home’: Sachiko Fukumoto on the power of choice

Her own childbirth experience informs why actor and freediver Sachiko Fukumoto now says every woman should have the right to choose how and where she gives birth.

Sachiko Fukumoto pictured with her daughter Mila while pregnant with Kai. Photo: Kazunori Nagatani

How did you get into freediving? I grew up in Okinawa in Japan, so I’ve been in the sea since I was a kid. About 10 years ago, I started filming underwater scenes but when I saw myself on screen I was like, “Oh my god, this is terrible!” I realised I needed lessons to be able to stay down longer and look nicer in the water. Now, the longest I can hold my breath is six minutes and 30 seconds. My husband is close to 10 minutes.

You and your husband, world freediving champion William Trubridge, wanted your children, Mila and Kai, to be born into your world. Tell us about Mila’s birth, the subject of the short film Water Baby. At first I wanted an ocean birth and we looked at the Bahamas and Okinawa. But we needed the water to be warm enough for me to be in there for a long time, and we wanted a medical facility nearby just in case. We couldn’t find the right place, but it still felt so natural for me to want to be in the water so I ended up in a birthing pool in New Zealand.

Do your children have a natural affinity for the water? They were both back in the water a few months after being born. I would let them go in the water and they would just swim, instantly. Mila was diving when she was one. I felt really good being in the ocean when I was pregnant and I found out the salinity is similar between the sea and amniotic fluid [in the womb during pregnancy]. Floating in the water while I was pregnant, I could kind of imagine my baby doing the same.

The difficulty you had navigating traditional maternity systems inspired the film Pacific Mother, which follows the birthing stories of four women across the region. What can viewers take from the film? It’s an empowering message to let women know they have options, that there are alternatives to giving birth in a hospital. Being pregnant is not an illness, so why do you have to be in the hospital? Of course, if there is an incident, we have the technology now that you can be evacuated and looked after. But in the past, every woman would give birth at home.

Pacific Mother presents a good case for water and home births but there’s little discussion of the risks... I never push people and say that you should do it this way. I believe any birth is beautiful and perfect. The important thing is whether you have the right to choose what you want to do.

Why did you want Mila, then aged three, to be present at the birth of your son Kai? It felt natural to have her there while I gave birth to her brother. I wanted her to cut the umbilical cord and everybody said, “You’re crazy” but I said, “Why not? She’s so good at scissors, she’s the perfect person to do it.” And then she did it! I was taught by my mum that giving birth was scary and painful, but now it’s not something my daughter is fearful of.

Were you making a statement when you were photographed breastfeeding on the red carpet at the 2019 Venice Film Festival? No, she was hungry! Some people will say it’s a natural thing and you should be able to do that anywhere and some will think that no, you shouldn’t breastfeed in public. But if we’re thirsty, we drink water no matter where we are or what we’re doing and the same goes for the baby. It’s just as simple as that.

Pacific Mother is screening now through Cinema on Demand au.demand.film/pacific-mother/