A new documentary shows how dire the maternal mortality crisis is. Everyone needs to watch it.
- "Born Free: Birth in America" is a feature documentary by Paula James-Martinez.
- The film looks at why the US is the only nation in the developed world with a rising mortality rate.
Filmmaker Paula James-Martinez didn't set out to become a maternal health activist. Then she got pregnant.
As a Brit who'd moved to the US to work in women's magazines, she encountered various issues when pregnant with her daughter, Luna.
Lots of things didn't make sense to her. Like, why is the US maternal mortality rate at its highest today since 1965, with 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births? Why are Black birthing people four times more likely to die from childbirth complications than white people? And why do things keep getting worse?
So she decided to document it all. "Born Free: Birth in America" is an information-packed 95-minute guide to where things stand when it comes to childbirth in the US today.
James-Martinez crosses the country with her all-female crew, interviewing families, doctors, doulas, midwives, activists, politicians, and lawyers, including Every Mother Counts' Christy Turlington, Senator Tammy Duckworth, and Chanel Porchia-Albert, founder of Ancient Song Doula Services.
The release of "Born Free" coincides with the 15-year anniversary of another seminal birthing documentary, "The Business of Being Born," produced by Ricki Lake.
"Ricki's been really supportive," James-Martinez told Insider. "She and I were discussing that it's been 15 years, and it's gotten a lot worse." She went on to say, "It's the canary in the coal mine; if you take maternal mortality as the lens that we look at women's health in general through, this is the biggest red flag there is. Everything below that is also awful."
So, what is going on with childbirth in the US today?
Informed by the political, the personal, and a whole load of stats, "Born Free" is a comprehensive guide to the myriad issues surrounding childbirth today, which includes the criminalization of pregnant women, 34% of birthing people in the US describing their births as "traumatic" and an increasingly medicalized approach to pregnancy and labor in recent years.
Viewers hear from those who weren't listened to during labor — like the interviewee subjected to an episiotomy after repeatedly refusing to consent to the procedure — and from those dealing with the exorbitant costs associated with complications from having babies in the US.
The film looks into the inequities facing birthing people today, from how the color of your skin to the state you live in can affect the care you receive.
For example, in New York, Black women are 12 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, while Washington state has some of the best maternal survival rates, thanks to high levels of integrated care — where midwives and doctors work in tandem.
Hope from heartbreak
The numbers might sound incomprehensible, but it's the personal stories that stick with viewers long after the film is over.
Father-of-two Charles Johnson is the founder 4Kira4Moms, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating maternal mortality. Johnson's wife, Kira, passed away in 2016 from internal hemorrhaging after a routine C-section following the birth of the couple's second child — despite repeated pleas to medical staff and physicians to examine her.
Johnson says he shares his story to educate, not scare.
"The goal is never to freak people out. It's making sure that we're informing and centering these experiences, that we're giving families a path towards hope and what they can do to make sure they have a wonderful, dignified birthing experience." He is delighted when people hear his story and feel motivated to ask difficult questions, seek out alternative care, or engage a midwife or doula.
Johnson is campaigning for legislative change as part of the comprehensive, community-informed Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which addresses a host of issues, including social determinants of health, expanding Medicare and Medicaid for every mother in the country to a year postpartum and helping incarcerated women who give birth in private prisons.
Included in this is the Kira Johnson Act, named after Johnson's wife, which urges the creation of independent, dignified care compliance centers within hospitals so that patients and families can be heard.
"Medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States, period, across the board. And of course it's disproportionately affecting people of color and women," Johnson said.
Taking a 'yes, and…' approach to maternal health awareness
Centering hope while raising awareness is key for James-Martinez. She likens what she's trying to do with the "yes, and" improv technique.
"Yes, it's bad… and we can fix it. Yes, it's bad… and you can have a doula, midwife, or OB you know is trusted. Yes, and… there's accountability for this hospital," she explained. Making the film prompted her to start a maternal health awareness non-profit, The Mother Lovers, where she can be the "hype girl who takes the money, can connect to brands, can connect to a different kind of audience, and then propel the money back down to grassroots organizations."
The rest of us can start by watching the movie, which, according to Johnson, is "'Bowling for Columbine' meets the maternal mortality crisis.
"One of the most powerful things is you can sit down and watch this film, knowing absolutely nothing about reproductive justice, about the maternal mortality crisis, about the history and leave being exceptionally well-informed," Johnson said.
Watch "Born Free" free of charge on Tubi now: https://link.tubi.tv/N6GTPYWENzb