"Maternal health is something that is very close to me, as a mother and an artist," Eiselt explained to Salon in a recent interview. In fact, those numbers are part of the reason she chose to take on this subject. Eiselt and Lee recognize how distressing those statistics are. To Eiselt and Lee, showing how calm birth can be when Black women are respected and empowered to control their experience is an essential part of revealing why America's medical system fails so many of them.Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020 (the most recent year for which this data exists) the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births was 55.3 for Black women, 19.1 for white women, and 18.2 for Hispanic women. When the moment arrives there is no screaming, just an exhaled sigh and joyful relief. Part of what makes it so extraordinary is the gentle attentiveness that directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee capture in the hours leading up to the birth: the mother-to-be eats strawberries, receives a massage from a midwife to relieve her pain, and breathes deeply. Hulu's new documentary "Aftershock" is devoted to examining the obscene disparity in maternal mortality rates that Black women face, but its climax centers on a smooth, problem-free delivery at a birthing center.
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