Mark your calendars and set your alarms, people. Tonight from 6:30pm to 8:30pm ET there is a critically important live discussion happening about the largely ignored black maternal health crisis currently rocking our country. Lead by superstar doula and Mother favorite Latham Thomas, the panel will be livestreamed via Facebook and Instagram live and will also feature Stacey D. Stewart, the first black female President of the March of Dimes, Kimberly Seals Allers, best-selling author and Director of Maternal and Child Health at Communication Collective, and Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, the President of the National Birth Equity Collective, Chair of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, and a practicing OB/GYN.

Together, these experts will tackle the devastating statistics behind black maternal health, including the fact that black women make up 22% of live birth, but 57% of maternal deaths (compared to white women making up 30% of live births and 6% of maternal deaths); the current black maternal mortality rate is 56.3%, which is worse than the U.S. average of 38.9% and all other industrialized nations. Meanwhile the white maternal mortality rate is 4.7%, which is better than the U.S. average and close to that of Norway at 5%; And in New York City, where the panel will be held, black women are 12 times more likely to die of childbirth or childbirth-related causes than white women.

These sobering facts and the reality that race deeply impacts women and children during the birth process cannot be ignored. Tune in tonight to find out exactly why this growing inequity is happening, the ripple effect it has on generations of black families, and what we can all do about it starting now.

The Fight For Birth Equity: Unpacking The Black Maternal Health Crisis, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 6:30-8:30pm, Facebook and Instagram Live via Mama Glow.