It’s Time to Change the Story About Black Birth
And we’re doing just that with Overdue, a pregnancy guide made for us in partnership with Un-ruly and Gerber.
What would it look like for more Black moms and birthing people to give birth from a place of empowerment instead of fear?
Even though the Black maternal mortality crisis is real—and really upsetting considering that Black women are three times more likely to die from birth-related complications than white women—we believe it’s possible for Black people to have empowered births. Part of that belief stems from knowing about doulas, the birthing professionals who provide emotional and educational support to birthing people. Studies have shown that doula-assisted mothers are more likely to have positive birthing outcomes.*
That’s why we partnered with Un-ruly and Gerber to create Overdue, a pregnancy and postpartum resource for Black moms-to-be. Overdue is poised to bring the support and information doulas provide to as many Black expectant parents as possible with the aim of stemming this crisis—by giving them the tools to navigate a biased healthcare system, and arm them with the information needed to advocate for themselves during the prenatal, birth, and the postpartum and recovery stages of their pregnancies.
We know this information is powerful—and we need your help to get it in front of as many people as possible. You can help us out by doing any one of the following:
* There currently isn’t any data about nonbinary and trans experiences of birth.
1. SHARE THE PROMO VIDEO!
Share it via email, on social media, via text, in a DM… Really, every and anywhere and with as many birth professionals and expecting, soon-to-be expecting, or still-just-considering parents you know. Click on the share button to get the link!
2. POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
We’ve created a bunch of videos and images that can be shared on social media to let everyone know that Overdue is right on time. Click on the images in the gallery to expand, then click and hold to download them to your phone. (And if you’d like to share video clips, click here.)
When you’re posting, use the hashtag #OverdueGerber and tag us (@matermea, @hairunruled, and @gerber) so we can see how much the word is getting out. And don’t forget to tell your friends to visit matermea.com/overdue so they can see all the information and resources for themselves.
Sample captions and tweets:
Black people deserve to give birth in joy instead of fear. #Overdue is pregnancy guide for us by @matermea @hairunruled & @gerber is all about how we can have empowering births https://bit.ly/3KWNpcT
Did you know Black women are 3x more likely to die from birth-related complications than white women? This guide helps us survive and thrive during our pregnancies! #Overdue @matermea @hairunruled @gerber https://bit.ly/3KWNpcT
#Overdue is like having your own virtual doula! Every Black birthing person should watch this! @matermea @hairunruled @gerber https://bit.ly/3KWNpcT
3. WRITE ABOUT OVERDUE FOR YOUR SITE!
Do you (or someone you know) cover health, wellness, parenting, motherhood, pregnancy, race…? (Overdue touches so many beats!)
Here are links to the official press release and the videos so you can write about the platform and share it with your audience.
Thank you so much for your support!
You know you want to!
