Social Documentary – Maternal Mortality & African-American Women

This documentary photography was submitted to Edge of Humanity Magazine by Social-Documentary Photographer and Videomaker Paolo Patruno.

From project “the AMERICAN dream” by Paolo Patruno.

Maternal mortality, maternal and newborn health is an untold matter.

Women, mothers die every day in a silent “war”.

That’s why since 2011 I’m running my long term documentary project “BIRTH IS A DREAM” which aims to document and raise awareness about the Maternity crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa, I’ve already shot across Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

And this year, after more than 4 years, I’ve decided to expand my project in the United States: US has the highest maternal mortality rate of any industrialized country in the world.

And to build a connection with my work in Africa, I’ve decided to start documenting stories from African-American women in the US; they are nearly 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women.

Through my documentary “the AMERICAN dream” I wish to give women the opportunity to tell their own stories: they know what is wrong, they share their hopes, they share their fears, and they share about their American dream, related to maternal health in the US.

For more information on this project click on any image.