Black Maternal Health Week

An appreciation of Black doulas and calls to find solutions for the disparity in Black maternal deaths kicked off the St. Louis City Department of Health’s week-long celebration of Black Maternal Health Week on Wednesday. The event is a precursor a screening of the film documentary “Sister Doula” created by Emmett Williams, CEO of Listen. Tell. Media on Thursday April 11. The documentary tells the story of Hakima Payne, a Kansas City nurse tackling the Black maternal health crisis head-on.  In 2018 Williams met Hakima Payne. For five years he filmed the life of a doula, this included doula classes and birthing exams. “Every single Black woman that I spoke to had some sort of negative experience with the U.S. health industry. That’s when I knew this was a story that I had to tell,” said Williams. He said that when telling Black stories it is equally important to tell the heroic work of those helping to fight those disparities. The film shows the doulas as heroes helping end Black maternal death and infant immortality.  The convening of the Black birthing community, and gathering support systems in conversation about the state of Black birth in America is this year’s goal–...