A Healthy Baby Girl (1997) User Reviews

A Tearful Journey---again!

[bvancitters · 9/10 · 13 May 2007]

Having lived as a DES daughter for over 50 years, having numerous miscarriages, an incompetent cervix, and one successful high risk pregnancy, this film was emotionally draining for me AND yet it validated something within me. Judith's questions to her mother were the same questions I asked of my mother. The sadness we both felt knowing the many problems that result from DES. My mom trying to get pregnant and having what will be her only child....me. How could I pass judgment when I would have done the same thing to keep my daughter. I am registered on the Beth Israel list of DES daughters. Thank you Judith!

Required Viewing for Medical School, and Rightly So!

[HotGaz · 10/10 · 28 January 1999]

Judith Helfand's documentary is absolutely incredible. In less than an hour and on a shoestring budget, it accomplishes what many other well-funded and lengthy documentaries cannot: it remains honest and sincere throughout, without ever attempting to admonish or preach to its audience. Helfand's sincerity is what makes this movie such an emotional experience -- she isn't making this movie for us, she's making it for herself, to help her understand and cope with what has happened to her and her family. This documentary was required viewing in my first year of medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, and it deserves to be shown to every medical student in their first year, because it allows us to witness the struggle that many of our patients must undergo daily. By understanding Judith's innermost worries and uncertainties, we can better empathize with all of our patients, who are experiencing these feelings to some degree whenever they set foot in our office. I know that I will be a better doctor for having seen this movie, and there aren't too many movies that I can say that about.

Saw film at Sundance in 1997. Powerful, moving, thought-provoking.

[mmgraff · 10/10 · 30 November 2001]

Saw the film in 1997 at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah with Filmmaker, Judith Helfand. Many in the audience were DES children, both men and women. After the film, discussion ensued, which quickly became an opportunity for DES children to talk about their own experiences with the effects of DES, how their health has been affected by chemicals both those prescribed and those in the environment. I went to see the film for the selfish reason that I am a DES daughter and thought I would gain some insight because I didn't know much about it except what my mother had told me. I found a community. From the group, one DES survivor in the Salt Lake City, UT area has organized around the Tooele Army Depot chemical weapons disposal and the risk to residents' health.

An emotional masterpiece...

[dkbritt85 · 10/10 · 10 April 2003]

Though the style and technique are not set in stone (the reason being that it was shot over several years and by several people). I have had the pleasure of meeting this lovely and brave woman in North Carolina at the Full Frame Film Festival in 2003. Her courage and humor come through in this touching piece. It is a must see. Also, check out her other film BLUE VINYL (2002)!

An emotional personal documentary about one woman's struggle with redfining womanhood after a radical hysterectomy.

[AngelMc55 · 10/10 · 26 April 2002]

Judith Helfand's "A Healthy Baby Girl" is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It is the story of a woman who is researching DES, a drug used to ensure full term pregnancies. She finds that she herself was a DES baby and was diagnosed with cancer. The film is her struggle through a radical hysterectomy and her lawsuit against the company that manufactured the drug.

Helfand and her family explore womanhood, motherhood, and cancer together in a touching and honest way. Judith is an eloquent filmmaker and If you have a mother or a daughter you are sure to get a lot out of this film.

Angela NYU Film