webinar register page

A Journey to Birth Justice: A panel discussion with the filmmakers of AFTERSHOCK

Our country has one of the highest levels of maternal mortality among developed nations. Black birthing people and families are disproportionately impacted: Black women are 3 - 5 times more likely to experience a maternal death than white women. During Black Maternal Health Week, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) is hosting a panel featuring filmmakers Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee and maternal health advocate Shawnee Benton-Gibson to discuss the movement for birth justice.

Eiselt and Lee’s film AFTERSHOCK follows two bereaved fathers after the preventable deaths of their partners due to childbirth complications. Over the course of the film, we witness these two families become ardent activists in the maternal health space, seeking justice through legislation, medical accountability, community, and the power of art. Their work introduces us to a myriad of people including a growing brotherhood of surviving Black fathers, along with the work of midwives and physicians on the ground fighting for institutional reform. Through their collective journeys, we find ourselves on the front lines of the growing birth justice movement that is demanding systemic change within our medical system and government.

Join us on Thursday, April 14 at 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm EDT to hear from Eiselt, Lee, and Benton-Gibson about as we deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health in our country by learning from the lived experiences of Black communities living in memory of those who have passed from maternal mortality.

Apr 14, 2022 02:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)