Racism. Toxic stress. Birth outcomes.

How are these things intertwined? The short film, Toxic: A Black Woman's Story, seeks to explore that question...

Peer into the world of the film’s lead protagonist, Nina. An elite lawyer, loyal wife, and loving mother of a teen boy, Nina is navigating life (and a pregnancy) to the best of her ability.

But sometimes the forces on a woman - especially a black woman - can be too much to bear.

In this short film, the viewer is invited on a journey of perspective transformation. See the world through the eyes of a successful black woman who must navigate an unjust world while trying to protect the world she has created for herself and her family.

With the theme of APHA's 2020 Annual Meeting being "Creating the Healthiest Nation: Preventing Violence," Toxic exhibits the racially-charged microaggressions (acts of violence in disguise) experienced by black women on a daily basis. With the intent of reaching policy makers, hospital systems, and educational institutions, Toxic seeks to engage conversation around why black babies in the United States are 2x more likely to die than white babies. (National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 68, No. 10, August 1, 2019.)