JACKSON, MS - (NewMediaWire) - September 12, 2024 - From writer, director, and public health expert Getty Israel comes the relevant and timely film, On the Bodies of Black Women, a documentary that critically explores the U.S. healthcare system’s highly profitable practice of performing unnecessary and preventable cesarean deliveries on Black mothers.  On the Bodies of Black Women focuses on the difficult challenges Black mothers in Mississippi experience when attempting to avoid a primary cesarean section delivery.

Cesarean section delivery is a major surgical procedure effective in saving mother and infant lives but should be performed only when it is medically indicated.  It can cause significant complications for mother and infant, including future miscarriages, placenta abruption, uterine rupture, nerve entrapment, organ injuries, child obesity, asthma, Type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, epilepsy, breastfeeding problems, stunted growth, respiratory difficulties, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, frequent illness, and disability. The risk of maternal death is 8 – 10 times higher. 

Further, cesarean section delivery is the number 1 surgery in the U.S., accounting for more than a million (32%) of births compared with 39% in Mississippi, which has the highest rates in the nation annually.  In 2022, Mississippi’s healthcare system earned over an estimated $224 million from cesarean section deliveries. Women who live in the Southern Region have an 89% probability of experiencing repeat cesarean section deliveries.  

Getty Israel, the CEO of Sisters in Birth, Inc., explained that the purpose of the documentary is to amplify this normalized healthcare crisis, which drives medical costs and maternal and infant morbidities and mortalities.  She argues for an expansion of the U.S. healthcare system to include a proliferation of freestanding birth centers so that American women will have greater access to midwifery care, an evidenced based, feasible model older than modern medicine. Therefore, unlike other documentaries, this film is a call to action, she said.

About Sisters in Birth, Inc.

Sisters in Birth is a nonprofit, charitable clinic and community health practice located in Jackson, MS.  It has demonstrated a track record of reducing maternal morbidities and mortalities through a integrative health care of midwifery care and birth workers.  It is leading the effort to augment Mississippi’s healthcare system by building freestanding birth centers in the state to significantly increase access to midwives, who prior to the 1950s were the leading obstetrical provider among Black mothers.  Connect with us at Sisters in Birth, Inc.

For media inquiries contact: israel@sibirth.onmicrosoft.com