Giving birth while Black in Middle Tennessee

Between 2017 and 2020, 113 Tennesseans died from pregnancy-related causes, and Black people were 2.5 times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts, according to the state’s 2022 Maternal Mortality Report.

In this episode, we’re speaking with an educator, a doula, a midwife and a doctor about some of the reasons behind this stark disparity and what needs to change to make birth a safer experience for parent and child.

But first, we’re talking with WPLN criminal justice reporter Paige Pfleger about gun bills in front of the Tennessee legislature this session.

Guests: 

• Tia Freeman, sex educator with the Beyond Roe Collective

• Stephanie DeVane-Johnson, midwife and associate professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

• Dr. Rolanda Lister, maternal-fetal medicine physician at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center

• Kristin Mejia, doula and founder of Homeland Heart Collective