Photo Exhibition Focuses on Black Pregnant Women, Midwives, and a Better Chance at Survival

Join the Pulitzer Center, Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO (VCIJ), and Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Virginia, for a photography exhibition focused on the work of Black midwives and the decisions of Black pregnant women to seek more personalized care—and a better chance at survival.

The photo exhibition is an extension of the reporting by VCIJ photographer and Pulitzer Center grantee Karen Kasmauski, who followed the work of Black midwives between January and April in 2023 in Virginia. Her series of photographs traces the relationships formed between midwives and their clients—from initial consultations and prenatal meetings to the birth and support in the months following pregnancy.

This exhibition is supported by the Pulitzer Center, which also supported Kasmauski’s reporting. Exhibit text is by Kasmauski and grantee Louis Hansen. There is no end date yet for the exhibition.

Research shows that Black women in the United States are three times more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death than white women. In Virginia, Black women in recent years have been more than twice as likely as other mothers to have a death attributed to childbirth.

Health experts say the country should be doing much more to improve maternal health and reach levels equal to other developed nations. More than eight in 10 pregnancy-related deaths in the United States could have been prevented, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Aiming to improve the health of expectant Black mothers, public health officials and providers have been looking at the role Black midwives can play. Research has shown that the use of skilled midwives may prevent a significant number of maternal deaths.

“We understand the lifelong impacts and positive health outcomes when families have their individual needs identified and supported when preparing for birth,” said Kapua Conley, regional president at Sentara Health. “Improving access to midwifery care for Black families leads to improved maternal health and birth outcomes, which is why Sentara Health is expanding our midwifery services across the Commonwealth and North Carolina.”

Read the full story in the Pulitzer Center-supported reporting project Confronting Maternal Inequality.

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