NATAL

NATAL returns Thursday, November 14.

We head home for a final good-bye to hear how Anasia, Ciara, Erick, Shayla and more are building new legacies exactly where they are.

Alabama Birth Collective founding member, Nadia Gramby, on the sisterhood of birthwork.

The parents adjust to life postpartum and the powerful transformations they've undergone.

The babies are coming.

From the physical to the emotional, all four parents navigate the highs and lows of pregnancy – and for some, even during a pandemic.

Alabama Birth Collective founder Jasmine Merritt on answering the call to serve.

Ciara explores the multitude of care options after learning she's pregnant.

Taking matters into her own hands, Anasia charts new pathways to parenthood uniquely her own.

Fannie Lou Hamer, Southern freedom fighter and one of the oldest Black-founded towns in the country spark The Browns' most transformational decision yet.

The moments that (re)introduced Shayla, Erick and Anasia to their bodies.

Meet the founding members of The Alabama Birth Collective.

Anasia Sturdivant and Ciara Hunter leave city life behind to find new places to call home.

Eight months pregnant during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shayla and Erick Brown return home to rural Mississippi for a chance to finally get it right.

Hosts Gabrielle Horton and Martina Abrahams Ilunga share what inspired this season. Interwoven between narrative interludes, this 10-part story album highlights the rich traditions and structural challenges that have moved four Black rural parents to birth new life and legacies on their own terms.

Coming Soon: NATAL heads to rural America for season two.

Despite how common pregnancy loss is, families often suffer in silence. In honor of Black Maternal Health Week (#BMHW21), we teamed up with NPR’s Life Kit to share stories from parents who have experienced loss, and expert advice about how to support loved ones through grief.

Welcome to The NATAL Summit! In this bonus episode, several parent storytellers from NATAL Season One gathered in a multi-generational conversation about the value of oral traditions, agency, and healing for Black birthing parents.

Welcome to The NATAL Summit! In this bonus episode, our very own production team offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to produce Black stories with dignity and how the team approached the season from a craft perspective.

Welcome back to The NATAL Summit! In this bonus episode, medical providers and birthworkers share steps needed to create a more integrated model of care that empowers Black birthing parents and protects the sacredness of the childbirth process.

Welcome to The NATAL Summit! In this bonus episode, birth equity advocates from the non-profit sector to government discuss how they're advancing public narratives, alongside effective data-informed public policies that result in better health outcomes for Black birthing parents.

In our season finale, Dallas-based mother and doula, Trish, demonstrates what agency from day one looks like for Black birthing parents: Trish shares what inspired her to become a birthworker, as well as the story of her home birth experience, including the phenomenal care she received from her Black midwife and doula. And Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC), co-founder of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, tells us why care for Black birthing parents is personal for her and how she's fighting on Capitol Hill to improve policy and protections for them.

This week we’re at home with Alexius Hill, a Memphis-based young mother who chose to give birth at home despite her family and friends’ concerns about doing so. We discuss the stigma around home births, and explore the radical work of full-spectrum doulas and the ways they strive to provide quality perinatal support for all birthing parents.

Unable to find an OBGYN that reciprocated the genuine excitement and warmth she felt about becoming a mother for the first time, Brittany pursues prenatal care with a midwife. In this episode, we explore alternative care models, the vital role of partners and loved ones, and hear from Demetra Seriki, a midwife in Colorado, who is determined to make sure all Black birthing parents can afford quality, affirming full spectrum care.

Marilyn and Yvonne are two parents determined to grow their families. When pregnancy loss disrupts their plans, they turn to their faith. Please note, this episode contains graphic details about miscarriage and stillbirth.

Today we’re airing a special episode from the Bodies podcast. Their show follows women and non binary folx on their journeys to solve the mysteries of their bodies. In this episode you’ll hear from Kalalea. After more than a decade of suffering, KalaLea discovers that the cause of her painful periods is common for Black women, but far from normal.

After trying to conceive for 10 years, Shellie was finally having her dream baby, but the challenges of motherhood slowly evolved into a silent struggle with postpartum depression. Reproductive psychiatrist Dr. Sinmi Bamgbose shares how she's working to expand mental health resources for Black birthing parents. Follow NATAL on social media: @natalstories Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates. NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.

In solidarity with the uprisings, and in honor of the countless victims of police and state-sanctioned violence, we are holding off on publishing this week's episode. We'll return Wednesday, June 10.

Facing unplanned pregnancies in their 20s, Mikah and Cecilia's hospital births reveal how access to childbirth education, support systems, and the lack of standardization of care shaped their individual journeys to becoming parents for the first time.

Martina explores the historical roots of modern obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Joia Crear-Perry and Dr. Mimi Niles explain how flaws in medical education and research contribute to the Black birthing crisis.

Myeshia is a married, 34-year-old cis Black queer woman with a PhD. Two weeks after giving birth to her first child, things take a turn for the worse in a Southern California emergency room.

NATAL Executive Producers Martina Abrahams Ilunga and Gabrielle Horton share what inspired the podcast, and what you can expect this season. NATAL premiers April 22, 2020.

Introducing NATAL, a podcast about having a baby while Black in the US, premiering April 22.