American Delivery is a powerful documentary that sheds light on the maternal mortality crisis in the U.S., where more women die in childbirth than in any other wealthy nation. The film follows five women and their births while interweaving the experiences of their families as they navigate the challenges of pregnancy, mental health, childbirth, and the postpartum period. It also explores the efforts of nurses and hospital leaders to restore hope by offering birth choices and community-centered care.
Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) is a national, evidence-based home visiting program that pairs registered nurses with first-time parents to improve pregnancy outcomes and strengthen families. In American Delivery, the Cleveland site of NFP is featured through MetroHealth, one of the program’s implementing partner organizations. The film follows nurse home visitor Dionna Holt, R.N., as she supports Jess, a first-time mom, through bi-weekly visits that nurture her physical, emotional, and mental health.
Their story demonstrates the impact of NFP’s trusted, community-based model—where nurses like Dionna meet families where they are and provide the support they need to thrive.
You can watch an excerpted eight-minute version of the film below, which highlights the NFP storyline in the documentary. In this portion, viewers see Dionna support Jess through pregnancy, the birth of her child, and the first few weeks of parenthood—a brief glimpse into the powerful, two-year partnership NFP nurses build with families.
The full 56-minute film, created by filmmaker Carolyn Jones and producer Lisa C. Frank, was released in 2025 and is available to stream on PBS.org and is airing on public television stations nationwide. It can also be rented or purchased on major platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play.
Through personal storytelling, American Delivery offers a message of hope, resilience, and the urgent need to fix the broken maternal health safety net, especially for women of color. Nurse-Family Partnership is part of that solution—providing holistic, community-based care at the local level that strengthens families and supports healthier futures for mothers and babies.
“I think there’s a lot that we can do on a community level and on a personal level, and I think nurses have an enormous ability right now to move the needle on so many things. When it comes to the maternal mortality crisis in the U.S., we wanted to examine nurse-led solutions that are working and can have an immediate impact on patients and families.”
– Filmmaker Carolyn Jones