A HEALTHY BABY GIRL
by Judith Helfand
Toxic exposure affects the most private parts of our lives. It forces us
to give language to things that we otherwise might not talk about in public
- body parts, intimate relationships, the future we want to take for granted.
I was twenty-five when I was diagnosed with DES-related cervical cancer;
two weeks later, I had to undergo a radical hysterectomy. I went home to my
parents in suburban Long Island, to recuperate in the same room where they
had brought me home as a newborn. I lay there, overwhelmed, wondering how
this drug had so insidiously worked its way into my life. My bed was in the
exact same place where my crib had been. That very stability - the same
room in the same house - made the abstractions of "toxic exposure" and
"corporate power" into something real and immediate. You get hurt at home,
and the relationships you hold most sacred are the ones at greatest risk.
A HEALTHY BABY GIRL opens to the melody of a traditional Yiddish lullaby,
"Sleep, Sleep, Sleep." The lyrics tell a story of a mother comforting her
baby: "Papa will come to the village, he'll bring an apple to heal your
head, nuts to heal your feet, soup to heal your tummy" - wholesome foods to
heal any ailment. The song speaks to what has been lost - my parents'
ability to protect me with simple nurture, my own ability to bear children.
But the Eastern European Jewish klezmer music in the film is also used to
reclaim what DES and toxic exposure have threatened - family, tradition, and
continuity.
Because of DES, my parents and I had to find new ways to care for each
other. Filming for five years wouldn't have been their first choice, but
they did it for me. In the process, they taught me what parenting really
means. Perhaps most important, they showed me that we can't lose our sense
of humor, even in the face of tragedy. Because if we had lost our ability
to laugh, we really would have lost everything.
So I'm inviting you to laugh with us. I hope that it will serve as a
reminder that our collective humanity is more powerful than the toxic and
environmental threats that face us.
Back to:
![[ Community Action Guide ]](commact_btn.gif)