In this new work we follow Indian midwives, or dais, from Rajasthan, Bihar, and Delhi as they tend to their patients, dispense traditional knowledge, and reflect on changing childbirth practices. Usually of low caste and rarely paid for their work, dais provide a service that is considered by some to be unhygienic and sinful but is nonetheless essential in areas where medical assistance is distant and expensive. These attitudes are contrasted with evidence of the increasing popularity of such practices in the West.

Combining observational cinema with intimate interviews, this film explores in detail the workday experiences of a small group of nurses in a hospital in East London. Their words and work convey a compassion and caring that is distinct from the clinical distance maintained as a matter of course by doctors. The nurses struggle alongside their patients, and many—despite the long hours of emotionally draining and physically exhausting work—admit they cannot conceive of doing anything else.