. >> reporter: in 2019, on september 23rd, amari's partner, shamani gibson, gave birth to their second, a baby boy named kari. >> she ended up with a c-section. >> reporter: but that joyous moment quickly spiraling. >> when we got home, you know, she was complaining about chest pain. she was complaining about shortness of breath. we had called the hospitals. and every time we did call it was, you know, "just have her rest, if nuggets worse, give us a call back." we were disregarded, and we were disregarded, until she had sharp chest pains one day and couldn't make it up the steps. >> the first thing i thought of was pulmonary embolism. when she was sharing the symptoms, i was like it sounds like this. she was like, no, ma, they checked me in the hospital, they said i was clear. >> reporter: shamani had less than two weeks at home with her child. but then the unthinkable happened. shamani tragically suffering a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in her lungs. a condition that doesn't have to be deadly if discovered and treated properly. >> telling her that her mother passed away is hard.

and in the case of shamani gibson we believe black women when we tell them, i'm in pain, something'sht after a c-section. another person that you highlight in this documentary is felicia ellis, a respect -- expecting mother in tulsa who's trying to decide between a hospital and a birthing center. and she delivers this poignant line. a black woman to having a baby is like a black man at a traffic stop with the police. what exactly does you mean by that? >> yeah, i think which she says is you have to pay attention every step of the way. so that every time as black people we find ourselves in a system, like with the police or in a hospital and are often viewed as naturally knowing what we're talking about, kind of suspect. so, you kind of have to be on your piece and cues make sure that you ask the right questions and you're often talked down too so you have to actually choose, i say, i think for us as black women really think about where we put ourselves. if the hospitals are place or doctors who we want to be with we have to make sure that the doctor is really looking out for us rathe

the film explores how racism played a role in the preven able deaths of shamani gibson. behind that title. >> yeah. good morning. "after shock" comes from the celebration of life of shamani gibson, that her mother and her partner, amari, had for her. as her mother often says, it's the ripple effect that happens after a death of a loved one from childbirth complications. that's the real tremor that's going on. >> tonya, tell us a little more about why this message, this movie, this film is so important right now, in july 2022. >> yeah, it's interesting. you know, this has been an issue, the high rates of maternal mortality has been an issue for 25 years plus. but right now, it is especially urgent, given the supreme court's overturning of roe v. wade. i'm deeply concerned about the health and wellness of all women in this country, particularly those that are most vulnerable, black women. the overturning of roe makes it more dangerous. i think we'll see more women die from childbirth complications. more women will get delayed care. what we talk about is women, especially b

. >> in october 2019, following a c-section, shamani gibson spent 13 days with her son before she suddenlyospital. these are the symptoms, what should we do, have her rest. she's probably doing too much. if anything gets worse call us back. we had three hospital visits between that two-week time frame and were disregarded and disregarded until she had chest pains and couldn't make it up the steps. >> reporter: she tragically suffered a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in her lungs, which her family claims was preventable. >> i felt guilty but then i realized she's a black woman, you know, i talk about this all the time. why would she be except? >> reporter: her mother and reproductive rights activists raising awareness of specific challenges black women face during and post pregnancy. >> wombs create worlds and we can't trust and believe that we can birth safely, what are we saying about the planet? >> black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related deaths than white women. up to 60% of these deaths are preventable. >> reporter: 26-year-old amber rose isaac passing aw