Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve reached our crowdfunding goal! We couldn’t have done it without your contributions, shares, and likes.

In our final week of the campaign, we are crowdfunding an additional 2k to reach our stretch goal of 12k. With these extra funds, we will hire an impact producer to amplify the project’s impact by ensuring it reaches our target audiences. THANK YOU! <3

What is 'Teddy' about?

When Timothy was 12 years old he asked his mother about the day he was born. He learned that his mother experienced severe complications during labor; he was delivered in an emergency C-section that saved his life.

His mother’s birth story inspired him to help others have better birth outcomes as a form of medical justice: “I can’t physically have children...so the next best thing for me to do is help those who can,” he explains.

During the pandemic, he enrolled in a 12-week full-spectrum doula training course Birthing Advocacy Doula Training (BADT) that equipped him with the necessary knowledge and skills to approach his work with a justice-based lens. While Teddy will never experience pregnancy and birth physically himself, his education and dedication to the well-being of his clients have laid the foundation for him as a birth worker.

Although doula is a role typically reserved for women, birth work is both Timothy’s activism and a personal calling. “Teddy” will visit Timothy working directly with his clients in all stages of pregnancy: prenatal appointments, labor and delivery, and postpartum appointments. In these spaces, the viewer will witness both the benefits and tensions of being a man who is working in intimate spaces with pregnant people and their partners.

Male doulas are extremely rare. I’m aware of only two other male doulas in Texas out of very few nationwide. Yet, despite being in the minority, these men can offer unique physical support to pregnant people and emotional support to their male partners. Doulas are powerful figures in the fight to reduce maternal mortality — research from the Office of Health Policy found that expectant mothers paired with a doula have a reduced risk of adverse birth outcomes.

Why is Teddy’s story important right now?

The most recent Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee report found that Black women in Texas are twice as likely as White women to die from pregnancy and childbirth. It also found that 90% of all maternal deaths in the state were preventable. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the maternal mortality ratio in the United States has doubled in the last 20 years.

In Houston, this issue is particularly acute. According to the 2024 Harris County Maternal and Infant Health Study, Black people who gave birth in Harris County between 2016 and 2020 had the highest pregnancy-related death rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.

With abortion banned in Texas and persistent maternal healthcare disparities across the state and the rest of the country, individuals like Timothy are taking matters into their own hands. As a doula working predominantly with Black women, Timothy prepares, educates, and advocates for his pregnant and birthing clients. His presence helps them achieve a positive, safe, and empowering birth on their terms.

Why are you making this film?

With abortion banned in Texas and persistent maternal healthcare disparities across the state and the rest of the country, I sought to highlight the work of individuals like Timothy who are taking matters into their own hands. 

Since 2022, I have filmed Timothy working directly with his clients in all stages of pregnancy: prenatal appointments, labor and delivery, and postpartum appointments. In these spaces, the viewer will witness both the benefits and tensions of being a man who is working in intimate spaces with pregnant people and their partners. 

I became pregnant less than a year after meeting Timothy for the first time. He soon became my doula – ensuring that my husband and I were prepared and informed about the phases of labor and common medical interventions in the hospital. 

As a new mom, I’ve found an even greater purpose in telling stories about individuals striving to improve birth outcomes for the communities who need it the most. I hope that this film will contribute to the conversation surrounding maternal healthcare and how we can improve birth outcomes for everyone, especially those most vulnerable. 

What phase is the project in?

The film is currently in post-production with a completion goal of August 2024. 

With the help of the short film grant from the Austin Film Society, I brought on producer Cristin Stephens earlier this year to build a post-production team to see the film through to its completion. Throughout the remainder of production and into post-production and distribution, Cristin and I will identify and hire a post-production crew for the edit, color, and sound. In addition to building and executing this crowdfunding campaign, we plan to begin research for distribution and marketing and hire an impact producer.

The film’s target audience is couples of reproductive age and medical professionals in Houston, Texas, and the Southern United States. To reach this audience and media partners, we will co-host local screenings with birth worker collectives in both Austin and Houston. We will also aim to reach OB-GYNs and labor and delivery nurses by organizing screenings with hospital systems in Texas. Black Maternal Health Week in April 2025 would be the ideal time to launch the film.

How will your contribution help to bring the film to life?

Filmmaking is expensive! The majority of the film has been self-funded so far, yet it has enormous potential for impact. My primary needs are in post-production and finishing services. 

I’m excited to hire and collaborate with an editor, colorist, and composer to elevate the work, but this is contingent on receiving the necessary funding to hire them. This is where we need your help!

Your generous contributions will be used for our essential post-production needs:

• $5,000 for an editor
• $2,500 for color grading
• $1,000 for a composer
• $1,500 for a sound mixer

If we surpass our goal of 10k, we aim to raise an additional $2,000 to hire an impact producer to help us reach our target audience of health professionals, birth workers, and individuals and couples of reproductive age during Black Maternal Health Week in April 2025.

Here's how else you can help:

• Follow this campaign on Seed&Spark, as well as our Instagram page @teddydocumentary
• Share this campaign with anyone who might be interested in supporting storytelling about maternal health!