The health and wellness of Latinas is crucial to the health and wellbeing of the U.S. economy. In 100 Latina Birthdays, an original documentary series from Peabody-nominated LWC Studios, reporters in Chicago investigate the health and lifetime outcomes of Latinas in the United States from birth to age 100. In season 1, the stories that unfold center Latinas during their perinatal journeys, childhood, adolescence, and up until age 20.
Made possible by grants from Healthy Communities Foundation, Field Foundation, Woods Foundation, Pritzker Foundation, and Chicago Foundation for Women. Fiscal sponsor is Mujeres Latinas en Acción.
For more information, all episodes, and transcripts in English and Spanish visit us at 100latinabirthdays.com. Follow us on social media @100latinabirthdays.
Series premieres October 2.
100 Latina Birthdays is made possible by grants from the Healthy Communities Foundation, Woods Fund Chicago, the Field Foundation of Illinois, JB and MK Pritzker Family Foundation, and the Chicago Foundation for Women. Mujeres Latinas en Acción is the series' fiscal sponsor.
Paulina Velasco: Hi, and welcome to 100 Latina Birthdays. I’m Paulina Velasco, the series editor. While reporting the stories locally in Chicago, we meet Latinas across generations navigating big and small milestones.
Clip of Singing: ...Happy birthday dear Kaelah Nicole, happy birthday to you!”
Velasco: And getting to know their personal stories helps us understand the future implications to our country’s economy of caring about the health and wellness of Latinas today. And the consequences for not doing so. By 2050, 1 in four women in the U.S. will be Latina. But today, Latinas experience more than two times the poverty of non-Hispanic white women. And only 1 in 3 Latinas 18 to 24 has enrolled in college.
Gisselle Cambron: So not like seeing people that look like you in a classroom or like in an auditorium, kind of just makes you want to like sit in the back and not be noticed.
Velasco: Latinas face higher rates of pregnancy and birth complications, chronic illnesses like diabetes and obesity, and tend to live in neighborhoods with gun violence and Covid-19 spikes.
Dariana Urbina: Once the pandemic hit. I was like, “Oh, no, where's my quinceañera gonna go? Am I still having a party?"
Velasco: Right now, 30% of U.S. Latinos are under 18. So in season 1, we dive into what matters most health wise to Latinas in the first two decades of their lives. We hear from Latinas who deal with pregnancy loss–something 1 in 3 of us experience. We get definitive answers to lingering questions, like “Does raising kids bilingual confuse them?”
Adriana Weisleder: The science just doesn't support that at all.
Velasco: And we hear how Latinas are taking down barriers to healthcare:
Jadhira Sanchez: Like we had cases where there was people that were really scared to get vaccinated. And our staff not only would educate them and talk to them about their own experience, but then would help them prep for the vaccination.
Velasco: 100 Latina Birthdays premieres October 2nd. Follow us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And go to 100latina birthdays dot com for more. Created and produced by LWC Studios. Funded by Healthy Communities Foundation, Field Foundation, Woods Foundation, Pritzker Foundation, and Chicago Foundation for Women.