What The Hell America!

ProPublica’s feature documentary “Before A Breath,” directed by Nadia Sussman, will have its YouTube premiere on Thursday, March 20, at 8 p.m. Eastern.

“Before a Breath” is a tender, infuriating and ultimately hopeful story of three mothers who have lost children to stillbirth and are now striving to make pregnancy safer. The film explores an experience shared by thousands of families in the U.S., where more than 20,000 stillbirths occur each year. At least a quarter of those losses are probably preventable.

After the stillbirth of her daughter, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya goes to Washington. She finds herself battling entrenched political inertia as she fights to pass the SHINE for Autumn Act, legislation named for her stillborn child. Kanika Harris, a maternal health advocate, takes change into her own hands, telling the story of Kodjo and Zindzi, the twins she lost, as she trains a new generation of Black birth workers. The stakes for making birth safer crystalize as we meet Stephanie Lee, a nurse administrator in Manhattan who, while seeking answers about her daughter Elodie’s stillbirth, takes the ultimate leap of faith. We follow her as she prepares to give birth again, under the care of the Rainbow Clinic at Mount Sinai, which offers specialized care for parents who have experienced these losses.

Inspired by Duaa Eldeib’s groundbreaking reporting, which was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, this film shines a light on the aftermath of stillbirth, an experience often shrouded in silence.

“Before a Breath” will also be distributed by The WNET Group. The film is a production of ProPublica. It is executive-produced by Almudena Toral and produced by Sussman, Lisa Riordan Seville and Liz Moughon, who is also the director of photography. It was edited by Margaret Cheatham Williams, with additional editing by Mahdokht Mahmoudabadi.

Where and how to watch

After the film’s debut on YouTube on Thursday, March 20, “Before a Breath” will be available to stream on ProPublica’s YouTube channel and at youtube.com/ThirteenWNET and thirteen.org. There will also be a number of free and open-to-the-public screenings at cinemas and other venues across the country.

Join us for a virtual discussion about the film

Join us on Wednesday, April 2, at 4 p.m. Eastern for a panel discussion with the filmmakers as they welcome the film’s main participants to share their powerful insights and experiences surrounding the stillbirth crisis. Reporter Duaa Eldeib and director Nadia Sussman will be joined by Kanika Harris, Stephanie Lee, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya and Dr. Joanne Stone, founder of the Rainbow Clinic at Mount Sinai.