Session Description:

April's Third Thursday Webinar (4/20) will be a panel discussion on the Hulu documentary film, "Aftershock."

Following the preventable deaths of loved ones due to childbirth complications, two families galvanize activists, birth-workers and physicians to reckon with one of the most pressing American crises of our time – the US maternal health crisis.

The disparity in Black maternal health compared to that of White maternal health is just that....a crisis. 

Did you know?

• In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 3 times the rate for White women in the United States. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as lower quality healthcare, structural racism, and implicit bias from healthcare providers, and underlying chronic conditions. (Source: CDC)

• Black mothers are more likely to suffer from PMADs (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders) like postpartum depression, in silence and without clinical help. (Source: NCBI)

• Black women disproportionately lack necessary reproductive health care—including contraception access and counseling, abortion, STI screenings, and reproductive screenings (Source: Health Equity, Obstetrics & Gynecology). This leaves them vulnerable to many risk factors around pregnancy. Recent improvements in maternal and infant health across the 20th century are due, in part, to expanded contraceptive access and use.

• Research suggests that Black women receive lower quality of care than white women, which increases risk of severe maternal morbidity, especially when receiving obstetric care at predominantly Black serving hospitals. (Source: AJOG)

Join SCIMHA as we work towards spreading awareness and fighting to close this health gap across the US.

If time allows, please watch the film before the discussion, but even if you can't, please consider still joining us. We have a panel of Black parents and professionals that will be discussing this crisis through the different lenses in their lives. (mama, clinician, doula, etc)

Save the date! 4/20, 12-1pm on Zoom.

For more information on Aftershock, visit  film’s website