I cried while watching Aftershock when it first premiered, and I cried again when I had to watch it for this class. Of course, it is because I am a black AFAB person. Of course, I don’t like seeing women and birthing people die because they wanted to bring a new life into the world. But I have the hardest time watching that film because my own mother nearly died trying to give birth to me.

I will not share the whole story here; the most important details are that my mother spent three days in labour before she was listened to by the nurses and doctors. It took this nursing staff 3 days of talking to my dad, my grandparents, and my mother before they started giving her the care she needed to give birth and not die in the process. My parents decided to have me be born in a predominately white hospital that has a very good birthing staff, but it always seems nightmarish to me when I hear the story.

I am so lucky that they actually did listen, but so many other black birthing people don’t get that luxury. It is so hard for me to think about how we get treated in the medical system. Even with black nurses and doctors, there are still so many deaths of parents and newly born babies that could have been avoided if we are taken seriously. If our health systems weren’t grabs for more money. If black folx weren’t treated like crash test dummies for new doctors disproportionately. I really don’t like that women and people with vulvas of colour are seen as disposable baby carriers instead of humans that need the same number of resources and support as our European counterparts. This country has always hated black people, and it has always hated black women.