Over six episodes, broadcaster and journalist Nikki Tapper speaks to people living and working in Black Communities across the West Midlands to understand how Covid has affected their lives.

There were  5000 births in Birmingham during lockdown and national figures state that Black women are five times more likely  to die in childbirth than their white counterparts. During episode 2, host @nikkitapper asks Doula and Birth and Wellbeing expert Amanda Smith and mum to be Sophia Griffin how maternity services can best support Black mums in the coming months

Amanda is the founder of Maternity Engagement Action an organisation offering perinatal support to Black and Brown women across the Midlands . She also works as a birth educator with  #bestbeginnings supporting new families right here in Birmingham.

You can hear the latest episodes on-line and on radio each Wednesday afternoon between 12 and 1pm on the Mid-Morning Conversation show on NewStyle radio 98.7 FM - www.newstyleradio.co.uk .

These podcasts are created by The Red Earth Collective with the support of Heart of England Foundation.