The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a CNN Original, returns with an intimate and heartrending report from CNN Anchor Abby Phillip on Black maternal health and mortality. “Homebirth Journey: Saving Black Moms” premieres on Sunday, December 17 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.

“Homebirth Journey: Saving Black Moms” delves into why a growing number of Black women are choosing to give birth at home and foregoing the care of a doctor in a hospital. Phillip meets with some of these women and examines the deep distrust that many Black women feel when it comes to hospital care, even celebrities like Serena Williams and Beyonce with access to world class healthcare. Phillip speaks with obstetricians who have watched as the maternal mortality statistics in the US have gone in the wrong direction and she reveals her own personal story of homebirth with the help of a doula.

“The deeply personal journey to this story began with my own pregnancy in 2020,” said Phillip.  “Like millions of black women, I simply wanted to feel safe and stay alive when giving birth to my daughter. The women featured are each in their own way changing the face of both the black maternal health crisis and its solutions.” Phillip added “this episode is a journey from fear to empowerment with lessons that could help save the lives of ALL women.”

In this episode, Phillip shadows a shift at a midwife-led maternity ward at the MLK Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles, where they credit their better-than-national-average statistics to the unusual partnership between their doctors and midwives. She also visits Kindred Space, the only Black-owned birthing center in LA, where midwives are fostering a sense of community and safety for pregnant women.