This is a community archive dedicated to the collection, preservation, and sharing of maternal stories and experiences of women of color in NYC during the Covid-19 pandemic, illustrating the reality of our healthcare system. The first goal of this project is to give women a platform to share their stories during childbirth and pregnancy, as well as, their needs/wants during maternity that will make experiences more than just tolerable or standard. The second goal is to identify the gaps that exist in maternal health and childbirth treatment which make it difficult to pinpoint why although 60-80% of maternal deaths are preventable, what are the aspects of our healthcare system, society, government, and practices that allow such disparities to exist in the first place. Overall, the interviews show that it is a myriad of factors within healthcare and resource provision that play a role in the experiences of pregnant women both structurally and interpersonally. These factors range from but are not limited to culture, education, family dynamics, a hospital and staff members, lack of uniformity around services given to women, as well as, the amount of information, or lack of, women receive before, during, or after birth. Read through this archive of interviews to dive into the unique experiences and story of each woman!

This archive was developed by Auriluz Pacheco Mejia, MSHR '21