Black Birth

Three expectant mothers, including the director, navigate the joys, fears, and complexity of Black motherhood in America.

Black Birth follows the journey of three Black expectant mothers. Haimy Assefa, director and first-time expectant mother, sets out to build community in hopes of safely navigating pregnancy in the U.S., where Black women are three times more likely than white women to die in childbirth. While the film explores the complex and challenging realities of Black women, it is also a celebration and expression of the daily joys of Black motherhood. The lives of Black mothers and their sons can be precarious ones with Black men dying at the hands of the state and Black women dying in childbirth.