‘Aftershock’ puts human face to maternal health crisis in US

By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer

Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee co-directed the new documentary “Aftershock,” which explores the topic of maternal mortality in the United States and premiered this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. According to the CDC, the maternal mortality rate was significantly higher in 2019 than 2018. The mortality of non-Hispanic Black women was 2.5 times that of white women. The film focuses in on two families affected by maternal mortality. Eiselt said they did not want to tell a “doom and gloom story,” but wanted to have a story that put forth solutions that was empowering for birthing people.