If you've been tuned into the news lately, you might already be aware that the United States is having a major maternal health care crisis.

And Black parents are at the center of it.

The United States has a problem with maternal mortality.

If you're an African American mother, your risks of dying in childbirth are three to four times higher than if you're white.

Now, this is gaining more attention tonight after Beyonce released her Netflix documentary

about her issues during pregnancy.

Tennis star Serena Williams recently told Vogue magazine how she self-diagnosed a life-threatening

emergency after giving birth.

But at the core of these statistics and beyond the celebrity soundbites are everyday people

with a whole lot to say.

I'm Gabrielle Horton.

And I'm Martina Abraham Zulunga.

We're the co-host of Natal, a new podcast about having a baby while black.

And throughout the season, we're turning the mic over to parents to tell their stories

and their own words.

I did not want to have a C-section.

Like, I did everything right in my pregnancy.

I wrote letters to God.

I went to church on Sundays.

I cut out all these negative thoughts and feelings.

Why is this happening to me?

Like, I don't want to die having a child.

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