This Vital Short Film Is Breaking The Silence Around Baby Loss
When PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER and PIPPA VOSPER set out to make their short film 22+1, they wanted to confront the realities of baby loss and racial inequality embedded in healthcare systems. In this candid reflection, the filmmakers explain why telling this story is so important – and how it serves as a powerful call for urgent change
Pippa Bennett-Warner is the co-writer and lead actor of 22+1, playing the role of Ruby. The film also marks her directorial debut.
“Women of color globally face significantly higher risks of pregnancy-related complications, leading to unacceptably high mortality rates. In the UK, the risk of maternal death for Black women is almost four times higher than for white women. We also face a 43% increased risk of miscarriage and are more likely to suffer serious birth complications, while far too many report being ignored when raising health concerns during pregnancy. A recent inquiry into racial injustice in maternity care laid it out clearly: Black, Brown and mixed-ethnicity women often feel unsafe. They’re disbelieved, and many describe feeling dehumanized throughout their care.
“When Pippa Vosper and I started work on 22+1, our short film about an interracial couple navigating late-term pregnancy loss, we knew we couldn’t tell this story without confronting that truth. Doing all the research gave us a powerful foundation – not just for the narrative, but for our sense of purpose.
“I have so many Black girlfriends and family members – my sister, my cousins… Just knowing that once we embark on the journey of pregnancy, we’re not necessarily safe – that we might not even see the pregnancy through because of systemic neglect – is terrifying. That fear, that reality, drove us to make 22+1. It became less about choosing to make a short film and more about feeling an absolute duty to do so. Because behind every data point is a human being. A woman. A family. Someone with feelings, fears and dreams. Pregnancy is one of the most vulnerable times in a woman’s life – and to go into hospital feeling even more vulnerable is unacceptable.”
“I hope Black and Brown women who watch 22+1 feel seen and supported in ways they perhaps didn’t during their own pregnancies. And for those who didn’t know this was happening? I want them to understand the reality women of color are facing every day
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“The NHS in the UK has been brilliant in supporting our work and are in conversation with us on how 22+1 can be used as a tool for advocacy and education. But Black maternal trauma still feels like a taboo subject. Everyone knows it’s happening, but either they don’t know the extent, or they choose to ignore it.
“Yet while the data is there, we can’t rely on statistics alone. And that’s where the power of film comes in. Not everyone wants to decode a table of numbers – but a 20-minute film can leave a lasting impact. That’s what we hope 22+1 does: makes people feel something. Because once you feel something, you’re more likely to act.
“I hope Black and Brown women who watch 22+1 feel seen and supported in ways they perhaps didn’t during their own pregnancies. And for those who didn’t know this was happening? I want them to understand the reality women of color are facing every day. I want policymakers to sit up and realize there is a huge portion of society being underserved.
“We need allies in medical institutions. We need better training for midwives. We need to get comfortable having uncomfortable conversations. This is also a global issue, not just a British one. And I’m hopeful that if we keep talking, keep making art and keep pushing for change, we will make things better. I feel passionately about protecting the younger generation of women coming up behind me. They deserve to walk into their pregnancies with excitement, not fear.
“22+1 might be a short film, but it’s bigger than that. It’s part of a wider movement. It’s a bold call to action. Enough is enough – there needs to be equal care in our health systems.”
Pippa Vosper is the creator, lead producer and co-writer of 22+1. Author of Beyond Grief, she has worked to highlight the realities of miscarriage and baby loss since her own late-term loss in 2017.
“I lost my baby at five months pregnant. It was sudden, traumatic and completely life-altering. In the days and weeks after, I searched online for stories that might help me make sense of what had happened, but I couldn’t find anything that resonated. The accounts I read didn’t reflect my experience. So, six months after my son died, I wrote about it for a magazine. I wanted others to know the true reality of baby loss – not the sanitized version people assume it to be.
“In that article, I wrote about kissing my baby’s cold face after he had passed away. Walking with him in my arms to the ambulance. The huge amount I bled. These are the things people don’t consider. Some people think it’s just a small amount of blood and then you get on with your week. But it isn’t like that. Later, I wrote a book – Beyond Grief: Navigating the Journey of Pregnancy and Baby Loss – during the Covid lockdown. I had spoken to more than 400 women, many through a call-out I posted on Instagram. Through that research, I realized something deeply troubling: the experiences of women of color were starkly different from those of white women. The disparities weren’t just slight – they were undeniable.”
“The film is about more than baby loss – it’s about the double trauma of loss and racial injustice in maternity services. The reports and data are out there, but care isn’t shifting, and women of color are routinely not believed or receiving the right treatment
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“That was the moment 22+1 really began. The film is about more than baby loss – it’s about the double trauma of loss and racial injustice in maternity services. The reports and data are out there, but care isn’t shifting, and women of color are routinely not believed or receiving the right treatment. These experiences needed to be shown in the film.
“Even now, people still don’t fully understand the anguish of losing a baby, especially if they haven’t lived through it. When you lose your baby – whether at two weeks or full term – the grief can engulf your entire life. It’s the small-but-not-small things that hit you. Your breast milk still comes in at a certain gestation period. That happened to me, and it was unbearable – your body is ready to feed a baby that isn’t there.
“I remember a midwife brushing me off in hospital, maybe because I asked too many questions. But can you really ask too many questions after losing your baby? We wanted 22+1 to portray all those realities. I hope it helps people truly see it for what it is – because this isn’t a small thing. Just because you haven’t met the baby doesn’t mean the parents’ grief isn’t real. I want people to listen longer, not just harder. To sit with the discomfort and to keep listening.
“Our hope has always been that 22+1 will travel globally. And, more importantly, our hope is that people will act. Ultimately, I would like to hear from the Chief Midwifery Officer for England telling me that because of this short film and the work of other women in the maternal health space, there’s been real change: that women of color are finally being believed; that there is more understanding, more empathy and, most of all, proper care for every single woman who goes through this unbearable loss.”
22+1 is premiering at the BFI London Film Festival on October 14