Charles S. Johnson IV Instagram – SHERO ALERT 🙌🏽💫Repost from @elainewelteroth • Here is a little snippet from a very personal short film I made with my friends at @bobbie to help raise awareness and resources about the maternal mortality crisis, an issue that’s extremely close to my heart. I was already very pregnant when I learned the U.S. sustains the highest maternal death rate of any high-income nation, a rate that’s climbed by 30% over the past 15 years. This disproportionately affects Black families and mothers—who are four times more likely to die. (12x more likely in New York City.) When you hear stats like that, you feel either hopeless or motivated to help make a change. I’m hoping sharing this inspires the latter. Because 84% of these deaths are preventable. There are solutions. Studies show that including midwives and doulas in the healthcare system could prevent more than 80% of maternal and infant deaths. But if you think these stats don’t apply because of your education, or your economic or social status, you’d be gravely mistaken. This crisis is real and it affects birthing people in all communities in the U.S. After having bad experiences in the medical system during my pregnancy, I pivoted to midwifery care and it was the best decision I ever made. (Shout out to @kimberlydurdin @kindredspaceLA 💞) You can check out the full video at the link in my stories. I hope sharing some of my story will encourage you to pay closer attention to this issue and donate to organizations working tirelessly every day to keep us alive by making better care more accessible for us all. If you feel led to give, please donate to @4Kira4Moms at the link in my bio.