♪ ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, birthing while black. with maternal mortality rates on the rise, we meet a team supporting expectant mothers. >> when women reach out to me, especially black women, the number one thing is, what do i feel, fear. >> helping women navigate their options. we're with an all-black nursing team, the midwifes and the doulas at the birth. >> just a big feeling of, wow, i did it. hunter biden's ex-wife, breaking their silence, talking about their marriage and his tumultuous personal life. >> he was struggling under a massive drug addiction.

that's heartbreaking and painful. >> and a low point, hunter's affair with herewith brother beau's widow. and taking a break. k-pop super group "b" ts with hits like "permission to dance" with a major announcement that has fans singing the blues.

♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, you're about to meet an all-black team of health care workers with a special mission. the u.s. has the highest maternal mortality among wealthy nations, and black women are much more likely to die in childbirth racial group. this team helps us examine why, as they work to support black mothers delivering their babies. here's abc's janai norman. >> reporter: there's something special in the moments before a woman introduces new life into the world. ebone bradley, mother of four, says helping expectant parents is more than a job, it's her mission. >> i was just like, other women, especially black women, they have no idea of their birth options. and so i felt like that was something i had to do. i felt called to do it. >> reporter: a licensed doula based in dallas for over a

decade, ebonae has supported hundreds of birthing mothers. when women reach out to you, what are some of their top reasons for seeking a doula? >> when women reach out to me, especially black women, the number one thing is what i felt, fear. they're afraid. >> reporter: she says she's seen firsthand how pregnant moms feel disempowered in the decision-making around their own health care and says she's seen doctors worry about statistical risks and sometimes dismiss women's concerns, rather than listening to them. >> doctors in general, most of them kind of tend to look at birth as something they want to manage. birth is not by the book. >> reporter: the united states has the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy ntions, and it's only getting worse. especially for black moms who are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than their white and hispanic counterparts.

dr. joya perry is a leading specialist on maternal mortality among block mothers. >> we know the consequences of racism, sexism, gender oppression are causing us to die in childbirth. we have never invested in people who are the most marginalized. our health care system was created to ensure people who have resources are able to get things. >> reporter: a retired ob-gyn, she says more support for birthing moms is needed. when someone comes to you, and they are just starting to learn about their options and they're like, what is a doula? how do you explain it? >> i always like to describe it as a birth planner for your birth. we sit with you and we really help you to see what the decision is for your birth, help you find your power through education. they're giving you emotional support. and then helping you with resources. connecting you. >> reporter: a 2013 study found that, quote, socially disadvantaged mothers who use doulas were two times less

likely to experience a birth complication. ebonae often partners with licensed midwives like ka near sha jones and turee fruje who are medically trained to deliver babies. >> it's not just caring for the body, it's caring for the whole woman. we want to know your mental state what your emotions are like. >> in our practice they have lots of choices. we do their birth at the birth center or their home. some women are like, i want to birth in a hospital but i want a midwife, so we collaborate and they get their hospital birth. >> reporter: a 2018 study found u.s. states with more robust midwivly services reported better maternal care and better birding outcomes, suggesting that states what have better resources dedicated to health care have better results. ebonae, teree, and kinesia are providing collaborative care for a new birth in arlington, texas. >> are you starting to feel some

signs? notice any different signs in your body? >> a few days ago, you know, i had back contractions. the bottom leg is going to go straight. >> reporter: justina arrington is a mother of two. her third is due any moment. take me back to your first birth, your son. he's 8 years old, right? >> he just turned 9 this year, yes, ma'am. it was just -- it was real tiresome. it was very traumatic. especially when i found out my doctor that i had been working with the entire time, he was not going to be there. >> reporter: justina's prenatal records show her baby started showing signs of fetal distress, and she says the doctor told her, for her safety and her baby's that she would need an emergency c-section. when they first told you that you needed a c-section, what went through your mind? >> oh, i immediately started crying. >> reporter: justina says though she was terrified of the surgery, she opted to undergo

another c-section for her second pregnancy after her doctor warned she could be in labor for days. >> once she told me, hey, it's probably going to be another 48 to 72 hours before this baby actually comes, it was like, okay -- well, i don't want to do that, let's just do the c-section. >> reporter: the cdc reported that in 2020, about 1 out of every 3 deliveries in the u.s. were c-sections. justina says the recovery from her two c-sections was painful. when she found out she was pregnant the third time, she and her husband were determined to have a vaginal birth at home, though that came with even greater risks for her baby. according to the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists, planned home birth is associated with more than two times increased risk of perinatal death and three times increased risk of seizures or serious neurological dysfunction in newborns. only 1% of women in the u.s. opt

to give birth at home. why did you, even with the risk of a home birth, why did you decide to bird at home versus, say, a birthing center? >> it was a little bit cheaper to be at home. i knew that my mom was coming from out of town, and it was going to be other people here. >> you were just surrounded by love? >> yes. uh-huh, for sure. >> reporter: medical organizations recommend a hospital setting for vbacs, vaginal births after c-sections, instead of at home, to allow for quick access to emergency medical care if it's needed. >> she came into our care because we knew it would give her a chance, we knew we'd let her labor and at least try to have her baby at home. we wanted her to know she is at higher risk than most mothers. >> we have to get the previous records fro her c-sections, make sure the surgery was done in a manner that was safe for her to try an out of hospital birth. then we go about preparing her

prenatal. >> reporter: justina's birth team has worked with many women who desire vbacs. success rates are 60% to 80%. but having a birth team can be costly. licensed midwifery services can be sometimes covered through insurance, but that along with the cost of hiring a doula can be a big barrier for families. only six states currently provide medicaid reimbursement for doula services. several more have passed legislation or are considering adding doula coverage to medicaid programs. >> we're all deserving of justice and joy. if we invest in health as a right, we'd have nobody in this country that doesn't have access to whatever birth they want. >> reporter: ebonae says her doula practice has been compelled to offer alternative payment methods, like scholarships, to fill the gap. >> so these are just regular index cards. >> reporter: to prepare the space for delivery, justina and

ebonae set up an affirmations board adorned with ultrasounds and words of encouragement. >> one thing that's always stood out is, you were created for this. >> yes. >> your body was created to do this. >> your body, that's right there. >> good morning, soldier. christina let me know her mucous blood came out the rest of the way last night with a lot more bleeding -- >> so my contractions are about two to four minutes apart. for the last 25 minutes. >> she's feeling a lot of pressure in her pelvis, so it's time for us to go. justina, listen to my voice. slow your breathing. you've got this, okay? your baby's right here, i can see him. if you want, you can reach down and touch. >> reporter: after 6 1/2 hours

in labor, justina successfully gave birth to her healthy baby girl, taelin. >> just to be able to find a team that was willing to take me on, that was willing to give me all the information that i needed, it's a big relief. and it's just a big feeling of like, wow, i did it. >> what's taelin like? >> oh my goodness. she's amazing. she is precious. just knowing that i was able to have her naturally is just -- it feels different. we're here on the ground doing the work. helping what we see as healthy birth outcomes. we see healthy mamas, healthy babies. all because they had doula support, midwifery care, and just love. >> our thanks to janai. up next, hunter biden's ex,

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♪ kathleen buhle and hunter biden were married for 24 years, divorcing in 2017. she was with him as he battled his addiction. now she's to telling her story to abc's amy robach. >> i wrote, this is not a story about who's right and who's wrong. this is my story, the story of kathleen buhle. >> reporter: she was married to hunter biden for 24 years. for the first time, kathleen buhle is opening up in an abc

news exclusive about her new memoir "in we break." >> the process of writing the book was incredibly cathartic. i came to own some of the decisions i made, which was hard. >> reporter: divorced five years, she detailed everything from watching her husband struggle with drug and alcohol addiction -- >> at what point in your marriage did you realize hunter had a drinking problem? >> with addiction especially, there's so much shame surrounding it that it becomes something that we don't talk about. >> we've seen images of hunter, the ones on his laptop, looking disheveled. was that the husband you knew in moments, at times? >> not at all. he was struggling under a massive drug addiction. and that's heartbreaking and painful. and that wasn't who i was married to. >> reporter: to her decision to let him control their finances. you say you weren't really involved in the finances at all?

>> this was one of the harder parts for me to write and to acknowledge. it's embarrassing to say that i ceded all financial control to my husband. >> do you know why you did that? >> i liked the nice things. and i didn't want to think about the cost at which they were coming. writing this book really helped me to understand how unfair that was to hunter. and how unhealthy that was for me. >> it was in 2003 when hunter returned from rehab the first time. and he tells you something about the tax situation. what did he tell you? >> that we owed money in taxes, but that he had set up a payment plan, and he wasn't worried. >> reporter: in the last several years, hunter biden's finances have come under intense public scrutiny. biden announced in december 2020 that federal investigators had

been probing his tax affairs and foreign business dealings. sources telling air force base news the investigation includes hunter biden's work in china and with a natural gas firm based in ukraine called burisma, where he served on the board from 2014 to 2019. the investigation is ongoing and has intensified in recent months with more and more witnesses appearing before a grand jury stationed in wilmington, delaware. biden has not been charged with a crime. if you were called to testify, would you have anything to say? >> no. i have buried my head in the sand. i really hope that's a lesson that women hear. understand your finances, take responsibility for them. >> i think hunter biden is a disgrace. >> maybe lock her up goes to lock him up. [ crowd chanting: lock him up ] >> reporter: donald trump and his allies hatch sought to character it's hunter biden's foreign business dealings as

evidence of some broader alleged biden family corruption. hunter in 2019 about the political firestorm surrounding his ties to businesses overseas. >> in retrospect i wish my judgment -- >> at the time you never thought, this doesn't look right? >> hyme a human. did i make a mistake? maybe in the grand scheme of things, yeah. did i make a mistake based upon some ethical lapse? absolutely not. >> the mistake was giving your father's political foes ammunition? >> yeah. >> you know i sat down with hunter back in 2019. i asked him specifically whether or not he would have been asked to be on that burisma board if his last name hadn't been biden. he said to me, "i don't know, probably not, i don't think there's a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn't biden." would you agree with that? >> not entirely. trying to get someone to parse out what parts of their life came from their parents is, in

my mind, not a healthy exercise. so i think he has always acknowledged the benefit and advan of coming from a prominent family. >> did he deliberately curry favor or seek profit based on who his father was? that's the question people ask. in your experience as his wife did you see that? >> i saw someone who loved his father. respected his parents. and was proud to be their son. >> reporter: buhle also recounts the day she learned of biden's relationship with her late brother-in-law's widow halle after beau passed away, but while she and hunter were still married. she says one of her daughters found december messages between her father and aunt on the phone and called they are interpret to help kathleen. >> i know they put out a statement, i don't know how that made you feel, saying they

supported the relationship between hunter and halle? >> the one thing i've never, ever questioned was joe and jill's love and attention to my three daughters. divorce was hard on all of us. because we were very close. but we come together out of a shared love for my daughters. >> did you ever confront or talk to halle? >> you know -- divorce is painful for everybody. it's not just the couple who are divorcing, it's not just the kids. it's the entire extended family and we were all very close. and so it was a painful process for everybody, i think. >> reporter: after their divorce, another battle, buhle learning she had stage iii colon cancer. >> nobody in my family had colon cancer. i am a runner, relatively healthy. so when she said that i had

cancer, within minutes i thought, i can't believe i was that upset about divorce. >> reporter: she says she is now looking ahead to the next chapter of her life. why did you decide to go back to your maiden name? >> the biden name was so much a part of my identity. i mean, the idea that i was a 49-year-old college-educated woman with a community of support, relatively smart, i really felt like i couldn't make it on my own. that's crazy. it was frightening. but i did it. and it felt empowering. >> our thanks to amy. up next, the announcement from super group bts that their from super group bts that their fans didn't want to hear. you slr and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil.

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finally tonight, after nine wildly successful years -- ♪ kiss me ♪ ♪ permission to dance ♪ >> they produced hits like "permission to dance." the seven members of bts who sat down with us last year are going their separate ways to pursue solo projects, at least for now. fans can take comfort in the words "it's not like we're