Black and Brown people who give birth now have access to a new digital platform where they can rate and review their experiences with Ob/Gyns, hospitals, and pediatricians.
Irth –– Birth without the B for bias –– was launched by Narrative Nation, Inc. a New York City-based Black woman-owned tech nonprofit that addresses health disparities through community discussion and technology.
Kimberly Seals Allers, the app’s founder and five-time author, was inspired to launch Irth after her own experience giving birth to her first child.
“When I had my first child, I asked white co-workers and friends for recommendations, read all the ‘Best of’ lists for hospitals, and was excited to deliver at a highly-ranked institution. Instead, I left feeling dismissed, disrespected, and traumatized. Exactly opposite to what my white peers had experienced. At that time in my life, I was not yet married and was finishing graduate school, and was therefore on student health insurance. And that’s how I was treated–– like an unwed Black woman with basic insurance. I never forgot that,” she said.
With the app, Black and Brown people who give birth are able to look through reviews left by other Black and Brown people, building the first national database of birthing and parenting experiences of its kind.
Given the data on the alarming maternal and infant mortality rates among Black women and newborns, the information Irth provides may be life saving for some.
“People are not being treated the same way even at the same place. Countless studies point to the prevalence of racism and bias in provider care. Yet Black and brown birthing people, who are disproportionately dying during and after childbirth within the hospital medical system, have no way of knowing how someone like them experienced a doctor or provider. We deserve a public platform to share with others where we are receiving good care,” Seals Allers said.
The Irth app can be downloaded using the Apple or Google Play stores or at IrthApp.com.
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