Black maternal mortality statistics have not shifted in the past thirty years.

The maternal mortality rate for Black patients is four to five times higher than it is for White patients. This is just one example of racism as a health and national crisis, but it is a particularly tragic one. Birthing Liberation presents reproductive justice as the pathway to equity. The issue of reproductive justice may sound specific, but it is in fact the birthplace of liberation. Its four guiding principles-analyzing power systems, addressing intersecting oppressions, centering the most marginalized, and joining together across issues and identities-have the power to lead us to collective liberation in all facets of life.

Collective liberation rests on the idea that in order for us all to have equity in this world-from the safety of birthing children, to the ability to bring a baby home to a safe community, to having access to resources, safety, and opportunities over the long term-we must all become liberated individuals.

Sabia C. Wade is a renowned radical doula and educator inspired to create a guide for how we can all achieve liberation through trauma healing and reproductive justice. Birthing Liberation creates a path to social and systemic change, starting within the birthing world and expanding far beyond.