BEFORE A BREATH

After the loss of her daughter Autumn, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya discovers that more than 20,000 stillbirths occur every year in the U.S. — and at least 1 in 4 is likely preventable. She goes to Washington, battling political inertia as she fights to make stillbirth research and prevention a federal priority. Kanika Harris, a maternal health advocate and doula, tells the story of her twins, Kodjo and Zindzi, as she trains a new generation of Black birth workers. And Stephanie Lee, a nurse leader at a Manhattan hospital, seeks answers about what might have led to her daughter Elodie’s stillbirth as she takes a leap of faith and becomes pregnant again.

Inspired by ProPublica’s groundbreaking reporting on the stillbirth crisis, which was a finalist for a 2023 Pulitzer Prize, the film is a powerful story of grief, healing and three mothers demanding that the U.S. do better by expecting parents.

If you’d like to host a screening or conversation in your community, please sign up here and use these guides to help you get started.

Read ProPublica’s reporting and participate in our stillbirth memorial.

• You can read ProPublica’s guide, “What You Need to Know About Stillbirths,” and our whole stillbirths series.
• Hear the stories of other families by visiting our stillbirth memorial and create your own.

Get more information about stillbirths and care for parents of loss.

• The Rainbow Clinic at Mount Sinai is one of several clinics opening around the country that care for pregnant patients with a history of perinatal loss.
• The University of Utah recently opened a Stillbirth Center of Excellence, a hub of efforts to end preventable stillbirths in the U.S.
• The International Stillbirth Alliance promotes collaboration for the prevention of stillbirth and newborn death worldwide.
• Bereavement support groups for families of loss are available around the country and online. Your local hospitals and birth centers may suggest some.

• Have you hosted a screening? Tell us about it!