Birth! Place? Digital Reflections

Exploring gentrification, housing inequity, and reproductive justice through lived experience.

Brief Context


Birth! Place? follows an expectant mother in Washington, D.C., navigating housing instability while planning a home birth. Her story reveals how systemic inequities shape deeply personal choices.

Section 1 of 5

Housing and Pregnancy

Now that you’ve watched the film, let’s reflect…

What does “home” mean in this context?

What does safety look like for this mother?

Click the image for a short refresher.

Home Birth without a Home

Displacement | Cost of Living | Access to Stable Housing

  1. How does where you live shape how you give birth?

  2. How does gentrification in Washington, DC, influence the mother’s decision to give birth without a permanent residence?

  3. What role does housing insecurity play in shaping access to maternal healthcare and reproductive choices?

    “Energetically, it feels like such a risk.” - Binahkaye Joy

  4. How does housing inequity disproportionately affect Black women?

  5. What role does justice play in reproductive choice?

Section 2 of 5

Hospital vs. Home

  1. Why does the mother feel the hospital may not be the safest place for her?

  2. What does “believing in your body” mean in this context?

  3. What are the implications of having your autonomy questioned in a medical setting?

  4. Why does the mother feel the hospital may not be the safest place for her?

Hospital vs Home 3
T. Ami Upshur
Section 3 of 5

Resilience | Celebration

1. Why is the mother’s celebration of life significant despite her circumstances?

2. How does this celebration contrast with systemic barriers?

3. What does this say about the power of motherhood in marginalized communities?

Agency | Autonomy

Agency is the ability to act and influence outcomes.

Autonomy is the freedom to make your own choices within or despite external constraints.

Agency is about doing (“I can”): taking action, making decisions, and shaping your environment.

You can have agency without autonomy—for example, acting effectively within strict rules but not choosing those rules. In short, autonomy is the freedom to choose; agency is the capacity to act on those choices.

Autonomy is about choosing (“I choose”): having independence to decide your path and align with your values.

“Why should my children to be unborn because of corrupt housing inequity?” - Binahkaye Joy

  1. What does planning a home birth without a home reveal about agency?

  2. How does the film challenge traditional ideas of where birth “should” happen?

Section 4 of 5

Beyond the Individual Story

  1. How has your understanding of housing inequity and reproductive justice changed?

  2. What actions can you take to support more equitable systems?

Broader Implications + Action

  1. How can communities address housing and healthcare inequities?

  2. What role does storytelling play in social change?

Closing Reflection

  1. What is one action, conversation, or shift in perspective you will carry forward from this experience?

Section 5 of 5