Deliver Us

Synopsis

The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the industrialized world—and Black mothers are dying at three to four times the rate of white mothers. Deliver Us examines this crisis through the eyes of Black midwives who are building an alternative from the ground up. Set across Los Angeles, Chicago, and rural Alabama, the film follows four midwives — Kimberly Durdin and Allegra Hill of Kindred Space LA, Jeanine Valrie Logan working to open the Chicago South Side Birth Center, and Dr. Stephanie Mitchell of Birth Sanctuary Gainesville — as they open birth centers, care for families inside and outside hospital systems, and confront the legal, political, and financial barriers designed to keep midwifery — and Black autonomy — on the margins. From intimate labor rooms to state hearings, community organizing, and moments of exhaustion and joy, their work reveals both the human cost of systemic neglect and the power of culturally centered care. Alongside these journeys, the film traces the roots of modern obstetrics back to medical experimentation on enslaved Black women, connecting past violence to present- day disparities. Expectant parents share stories of being dismissed, over-intervened upon, or forced out of hospital care—while midwives fight to protect choice, dignity, and life itself. Deliver Us is not only a portrait of crisis, but of resistance and hope. It documents a maternal health revolution already underway—one led by Black women reclaiming birth, reshaping care, and demanding a future where bringing life into the world does not mean risking your own.