Many of you watch Lifetime Channel which is owned by A&E (Arts & Entertainment) On Sunday April 11, 2021 the movie "Beware of the Midwife" was aired. This is the summary of the film: 

https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/beware-of-the-midwife?fbclid=IwAR3K4LTDxcKvOrft80saVyCQYiDOgNmQgJ2SmhZeEwi3lzUMyTI8OFEmQ3k

ABOUT THE MOVIE
With doubts of delivering their first child in the hospital, Sarah and Kevin decide to hire a midwife to give birth safely in their own home. But their worst nightmare occurs when their midwife, Rose, conceives a different plan and kidnaps their newborn to have a grandchild of her own. Now Sarah and Kevin must find Rose, and most importantly their baby. Mouna Traor, Raven Dauda, Michael Xavier star. (2021)

As a Black Birth worker who is DONA International certified I find this movie egregious to Black birth, Black community and to the Black Grand Midwives. Historically, the Grand Midwives helped build America. With a few hundred thousand slaves who crossed the Atlantic in slave ships, white slave owners were able to breed these few hundred thousand slaves into millions in just a few decades. Grand Midwives supported those millions of births. Today, we know the Grand Midwives were ousted from birth work by white male OB's with false allegations and claims of witchcraft. As a result, Black midwives face extinction with challenges in economics, access as precepts and LACK of diversity in midwifery schools across America. In 2020 the ONLY first BLACK midwifery school, Common Sense Midwifery owned by Jennie Joseph in Florida. To become a Black midwife in America is a fight against white supremacy and racism.

Black people face poor maternal health outcomes 12 times higher than any other ethnicity, race or culture.  As recently stated by United States Vice President Kamala Harris, it is racism that is responsible for Black maternal health disparities. Black pregnant people are fearful of encountering racism in hospital births and therefore are turning to birth centers and homebirths - where midwives are there to support them. 

The release of “Beware of the Midwife” movie with an all Black cast triggers fear and negativity in Black births with a plot of kidnapping a newborn by a Black midwife. This movie places Black midwives in a negative and harmful light - impacting Black midwives, Black families, Black births, Black lives, Black narratives and Black doulas.

It is demanded in restitution A&E Lifetime REMOVES the film “Beware of the Black Midwife” as well as issues a national apology in writing on all of their social media outlets. It is also necessary that A&E Lifetime provide monetary scholarships funding to Black midwifery students and Black owned/operated midwifery schools. Black birth workers and non-Black allies are asked to boycott Lifetime Channel for its lack of diversity/inclusion. Please see the photos of the executives running A&E Lifetime; it is homogeneously white which explains why this petition is necessary. Here is link to photos of executives: https://www.aenetworks.com/who-we-are/

Black births, families and Black persons as well as Black birth workers are to be protected. No other race/ethnic group encounters this kind of negative and hostile media attention with any regard to the fallout and harm experienced by the Black diaspora. “Beware of the Midwife” was released on the first day of Black Maternal Health Week; this is no coincidence. This is white supremacy.

As a result of the release of “Beware of the Midwife” - Black birth workers will spend precious time putting out the ‘fire’ this movie is causing. We will be calming families and keeping them from unsafe unassisted births, we Black birth workers will be reiterating the history of Grand Midwives in accuracy and respect.
Please share on social media outlets post about this harm done by Arts & Entertainment – Lifetime Channel against Black people.

You can write your reactions personally here: https://www.aenetworks.com/contact?fbclid=IwAR1T7_WBqWllmPaDmDC_dZdhylHxCqGPmHqBxEKL4xUepcCQLTVsHqXExtE
Warmly,
Denise Bolds

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Denise Bolds, MSW, Adv.CD (DONA), CLC Owner/Doula/Childbirth Educator/Mentor
DONA International Certified Birth Doula
Evidence Based Birth® Instructor
Bold Doula
"Motherhood by Choice Not by Chance"
845-797-4177
http://www.BoldDoula.com
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/denise-bolds
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