Flint, MI– In honor of Black Maternal Health week, a Flint organization is hosting a discussion about the highs and lows of puberty, fertility, and pregnancy for Black women in the community.
The free “Mind Your Womb: Puberty, Fertility, and Black Maternal Health” event will be held at the McCree Theater, 4601 Clio Rd, on Thursday, April 14, from 6-8 p.m.
The event will consist of a short preview of the OWN network documentary Eggs Over Easy, a film about Black women’s experiences with birth, fertility, puberty and more. After the preview, three panelists from the Flint area will discuss the film as well as many aspects of Black women’s health.
The event was organized by the Invisible Giants Legacy Legacy & Leadership Foundation and LifeBrand Factory. Flint native and board member of the foundation, Rochonda Woodard, took the lead on this project.
“It just was very fitting for us to want to do an event here … in the community that we were born and raised in, because we thought about the things that we were lacking, what we didn’t hear in sex education class,” Woodard said. “And so now here we are, mid 30s to early 40-year-old women, finding out new things about both our bodies and our wombs in general.”
Woodard said she wanted to create a safe space for women to share their stories, but also learn about their health and get connected to resources with the help of the panelists.
The three panelists are “Nurse T” Tarnesa Martin, Health Educator Renita Bingham, and activist Natasha Thomas.
“We’re going to start with the film, talk a little bit about that, and then we’re going to dive right into the journey from puberty through the high points of puberty, pre-pregnancy and fertility, all the way down to highlighting the mortality rate in Black women,” Woodard said.
But Woodard said it’s important for the community to know that the event is open to everyone–not just Black women.
“It’s open to not just women, and not just teenage girls, but to the people that love them as well,” Woodard said. “Like the fathers, like the men, because I think that there’s a misconception about the ‘strong Black woman’ and the support is where a lot of that is really needed.”
She said that these can be “hard conversations,” for Black women to have, and that women need to be supported emotionally.
“While we’re being exposed, while we are being vulnerable … the support comes in from family and friends, and of course, essentially the partners and the men in our lives as well,” Woodard said.
Those interested in attending can register for the event here.