Pacific Mother Preview
Preview: 9/17/2026 | 30sVideo has Closed Captions
Indigenous women around the Pacific seek support in their birth choices.
As freediving couple Sachiko Fukumoto and William Trubridge navigated maternity systems for the birth of their first child, it awoke in them a fierce realisation about the lack of choice many parents face. Now Sachiko connects with other mothers around the Pacific, from Hawai’i, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and Aotearoa who face similar battles and have been cut off from Indigenous birth practices.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Pacific Mother Preview
Preview: 9/17/2026 | 30sVideo has Closed Captions
As freediving couple Sachiko Fukumoto and William Trubridge navigated maternity systems for the birth of their first child, it awoke in them a fierce realisation about the lack of choice many parents face. Now Sachiko connects with other mothers around the Pacific, from Hawai’i, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and Aotearoa who face similar battles and have been cut off from Indigenous birth practices.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch Pacific Heartbeat
Pacific Heartbeat is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(calm music) - [Narrator] We're following a tradition that stretches across this great ocean.
- [Speaker 1] There's some ancient wisdom in the way women have been giving birth for thousands of years.
- [Speaker 2] We lost a lot of our cultural practices after colonization.
- [Speaker 3] But now, we're trying to get things back.
- [Narrator] Earth gave birth to us long ago, and we are just one of the many creatures to call this planet home.
(gentle music)
NewIn Tahiti, Rava Ray was Determined to Have an Outdoor Birth
Video has Closed Captions
Rava Ray, Tahitian photographer and artist, sought an ocean birth for her first child. (2m 44s)
NewKimi Werner Shares the Beginning of Her First Birth Journey
Video has Closed Captions
Kimi Werner, Native Hawaiian free diver and spearfisher, shares her first birth journey. (3m 6s)
NewLearning Cook Island Birthing Traditions
Video has Closed Captions
Ioana Turia, competitive paddler and free diver, shares her birth journey in Rarotonga. (2m 33s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
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Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts.