And it has nothing to do with any other part of why you should watch the show.
I don't actually watch black-ish on a regular basis, let me get that out of the way. I do however have an unhealthy addiction to American Housewife, which is also on ABC, and see the commercials for the show all the time.
I did catch some of the previews of tonight's finale, and when I heard induced and blood pressure the hairs on my neck raised. It seems odd, I know. But having been in exactly the place Bow is in tonight, twice, the idea that a mainstream comedy was going to talk about pre-eclampsia bowled me over.
And it's real, not made up for television. The situation tonight is pulled straight from the life of show creator Kenya Barris. The terror is still fresh in him since it was just last year that his wife Bow Barris gave birth to their sixth child prematurely after she was diagnosed with preeclampsia.
On the plot tonight, Barris says, “We’re going to see them go through a lot of emotions—fear, anxiety, elation, sadness. It’s a pretty serious episode, and things are going to happen that will change the family and surprise the audience. I think the takeaway is that life throws you curveballs, and you have to be prepared.”
If you take anything away from the show tonight beyond the laughter and tears, realize that talking about this complication, which is responsible for 12 percent of maternal deaths worldwide, behind hemorrhaging and sepsis, is that this is a terrifyingly sudden and deadly diagnosis, that left untreated can kill both mom and baby. There is no cause yet, research is still ongoing. It is not genetic, nor does it care how far along in your pregnancy you are, what color your skin is, how much you eat, how much you exercise - none of it adds up to why.
So watch tonight, not just to see an amazing show, but to support moms like Bow and me and start working towards a reason and a solution.