Our film “Maternity” aims to tackle the difficult discussion around maternal mortality in America. Implicit bias in healthcare is not a new phenomenon, Black bodies have endured medical inequalities since the founding of this nation. We hope to initiate a dialogue around preventable maternal deaths and highlight the inhumanity many Black mothers experience at hospitals.

Black Mothers are dying. In hospitals across America, Black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth and postpartum. Throughout the American healthcare System, Black women have a high mortality rate despite socio-economic status and education. Racial disparities are a leading cause of mistreatment, incorrect diagnosis, and access to quality reproductive care. It is estimated that 60 percent of maternal complications are preventable, yet America ranks 55th for maternal mortality. The United States has the worst rate of maternal deaths in the developed world— 700 - 900 preventable deaths occur every year.

Too often, life-threatening complications are overlooked as the reproductive system in America was designed to save the baby, not the mother. Throughout popular films and television, pregnancy narratives follow a series of tropes that are often sexist or glamorized. Many stories highlight the overly gleeful expecting mother, the working mom, or the mother with fertility issues, all of which are followed by a fairy-tale ending. Honest and authentic portrayals of childbirth and pregnancy complications are rarely shown in media. Often times, women of color are missing from the pregnancy narrative altogether.

In light of the ongoing Coronavirus crisis that is devastating communities across the nation, Black doctors are concerned about the deep-seated inequities that disproportionately affect the Black community. Given the contagious nature of the virus, this has prompted hospitals to enforce isolation policies for expecting mothers in the maternity wards. This isolation separates expecting mothers from their loved ones, typically their biggest advocates, leaving women to give birth alone. This policy further escalates the risks for Black mothers who will likely get misdiagnosed while in the maternity ward. Chronic symptoms will go unchecked, leaving mothers more susceptible to the threat of maternal mortality.