LOS ANGELES - The LA Civil Rights Department hosted a free screening of Birthing Justice at Regal Cinemas LA LIVE today to honor Black Maternal Health Week.
"The Black Maternal Health Crisis is one of the major equity issues of our time - and this film is essential to addressing it," said Capri Maddox, General Manager of the LA Civil Rights Department. "We are here tonight because we need to put an end to this deadly crisis - and we all have a role to play."
Black women in the United States are 3 to 4 times more likely to die during childbirth than white women, and Black babies die at three times the rate of white newborns during their initial hospital stays. These disparities hold regardless of the mother's income, education, or health factors. Birthing Justice uncovers the Black maternal health crisis in the U.S. through first-person narratives, scientific data, and the stories of Black motherhood from Georgia to South L.A.
The documentary screening was followed by a powerful panel discussion moderated by filmmaker and reporter Bonnie Boswell (Bonnie Boswell Reports). The panel featured Birthing Justice executive producer Denise Pines, Black Women for Wellness Executive Director Janette Robinson-Flint, African American Infant/Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Outreach & Engagement Director Adjoa Jones, and Nigha Robertson, father of three-month-old Aniya and partner of April Valentine, who died in childbirth at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood.
The screening and panel discussion was supported by Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and Councilmember Heather Hutt (District 10), as well as AEG and Regal Cinemas.
To learn more about the Black Maternal Health Crisis, click here.
