Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

How to Have an American Baby

Play trailer 2:04 Poster for How to Have an American Baby 2023 1h 57m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 3 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
Tracing the underground birth tourism industry from Beijing and Shanghai to Los Angeles, Leslie Tai's feature film debut HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a creative documentary that takes us behind the closed doors of the booming shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists who travel to the U.S. to give birth--in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their babies. Told through a series of intimately observed, interwoven storylines, we meet expectant mothers, maternity hotel operators and operator wannabes, local doctors and civic officials, birth tourism agents in China, and the nannies, cooks, and chauffeurs that fuel this industry. Inside bedrooms, delivery rooms, and private family meetings, the story of a hidden global economy emerges--depicting the aspirations and anxieties, fortunes and tragedies that befall the ordinary people caught in the web of its influence.

Where to Watch

How to Have an American Baby

Critics Reviews

View More
John Anderson Wall Street Journal Dec 8, 2023
“How to Have an American Baby” is a virtual one-woman production, which may explain the extraordinary intimacy achieved by producer, writer, cinematographer, director and editor Leslie Tai. Go to Full Review Paul Emmanuel Enicola The Movie Buff Jul 8, 2024
B
As a study of the complexity of the human experience in our globalized world, “How to Have an American Baby” is a compassionate portrait of women’s reproductive journeys, juxtaposed with traditions and capitalist desires. Go to Full Review Scott Phillips Forbes Apr 14, 2023
How to Have an American Baby is a solid piece of film journalism. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
How to Have an American Baby

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Leslie Tai

Director

Leslie Tai

Screenwriter

Leslie Tai

Producer

Jillian Schultz

Producer

Charlotte Cook

Executive Producer

Esther Robinson

Executive Producer
View All

How to Have an American Baby

How to Have an American Baby: Trailer 1 How to Have an American Baby: Trailer 1 2:04 Now Playing View more videos
View All

How to Have an American Baby

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Tracing the underground birth tourism industry from Beijing and Shanghai to Los Angeles, Leslie Tai's feature film debut HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a creative documentary that takes us behind the closed doors of the booming shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists who travel to the U.S. to give birth--in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their babies. Told through a series of intimately observed, interwoven storylines, we meet expectant mothers, maternity hotel operators and operator wannabes, local doctors and civic officials, birth tourism agents in China, and the nannies, cooks, and chauffeurs that fuel this industry. Inside bedrooms, delivery rooms, and private family meetings, the story of a hidden global economy emerges--depicting the aspirations and anxieties, fortunes and tragedies that befall the ordinary people caught in the web of its influence.
Director
Leslie Tai
Producer
Leslie Tai, Jillian Schultz
Screenwriter
Leslie Tai
Production Co
Big Belly Woman
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 19, 2025
Runtime
1h 57m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings