Infertile Ground

INFERTILE GROUND is the untold story of how the climate crisis is devastating Black families around the country as they hope for or are expecting a child. The film will show viewers how Black families are dealing with different, but connected aspects of the crisis to learn how they have been impacted, how their bodies have been transformed, and why no one is listening to their desperate cries to create the healthy families they want. The film weaves together three narratives affecting Black maternal health: the families and communities that are on the front lines of the climate crisis, the fight in Congress over the Black Momnibus Act, particularly H.R. 3302, the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act that provides research and support for Black pregnant people and mothers dealing with the climate crisis, and the healthcare providers– the doulas and midwives that are trying to inform their patients about the impact of climate change and air pollution when their doctors fall short.

First, we’ll visit with women in “Cancer Alley,” an area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, that has one of the highest number of fossil fuel plants in the world, to learn of the frustration that Black families are feeling as miscarriages, preterm births and hysterectomies become a commonplace among the residents. We’ll meet people like Ashley and Shamell, who say despite the fact that their health concerns have been ignored by government and industry alike, they are determined to fight back whether through buying up land or fighting the industry face to face in DC. Then we’ll take a trip to Jackson to meet Sequaya, who was pregnant during the height of the water crisis in 2022 that was caused by extreme flooding. She regrets having to choose to drink toxic water that she believed could have caused harm to her fetus, then her newborn, because she was low on cash and there was no water at the stores. To this day she still wonders what if her decision will cause harm to her child. Next, we meet Tamara, a woman who was 36 weeks pregnant, with a history of preterm births that was left to evacuate her home as a hurricane was at her door. We’ll round out our community stories in Phoenix, where we’ll talk with men and women about how high temperatures are impacting their chances of conception. After meeting our host of characters in their respective communities, we journey to Washington DC, where we learn about the fight to get politicians to care about Black fertility, before talking to a range of experts and researchers on why climate and reproductive issues go hand in hand and how racism has historically been (and continues to be) linked to them both. Finally, we’ll turn to another group that is trying to protect and ensure Black families have the healthy children they want and deserve—the doulas and midwives that are on the front lines of the climate crisis. Often more in tune with the personal lives and challenges of Black families, doulas, some of the most underpaid medical professionals, are taking the fight for climate justice and reproductive rights in their own hands. But is it enough?