Take care of yourselves and mothers all over the world

As a student of public health, I have a special spot in my heart for maternal health (and, as an extension, infant health).  In the past 20 or so years, there have been some incredible gains made towards bettering maternal health around the world.  The United Nations has 8 Millenium Development Goals that they want to achieve.  These include eradicating poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; developing a global partnership for development; and improving maternal health.  They aim to "reduce by 3/4 the maternal mortality ratio," which means that they want to prevent 75 out of the 100 deaths that are attributable to maternal (giving birth)-related factors.  They also aim to achieve universal access to reproductive health care, including providing adequate methods of family planning and access to prenatal care.

The sad thing is that most maternal deaths are preventable.  What should be a joyous, wonderful experience for women ends up being something that is feared for the 1000 or so women who die from complications of childbirth EACH DAY.  Yes, women are biologically engineered to have babies and yes, childbirth without skilled care is possible.  However, these women are dying because they have no access to preventive care, so they die from causes such as hemorrhage after birth, infections after birth, high blood pressure during pregnancy, obstructed labor (where the mother and fetus both die), and issues related to unsafe abortion.  

Although I've studied these issues in various classes at school, I tend to forget that they exist from day to day.  This mother's day, as I was searching for gifts for my mama friends, I came across Christy Turlington Burns, of supermodel fame, on a talk show promoting her new documentary, "No Woman No Cry."



She is the maternal health ambassador for CARE, an organization dedicated to ending poverty.  She is also a part of Every Mother Counts, an "advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal and child health."  The website is beautiful and has all the information you need to educate yourself about maternal mortality.  There are also ways you can take action to improve maternal mortality around the world, including giving a donation to building a health clinic in the DRC through CARE; donating your old phone so that health workers in the DRC have a way to connect with each other during emergencies; donate money to doc to dock to supply health workers in the Sudan with unused medical items from the US; donate to support midwife training in Afghanistan, which has the worst maternal mortality in the world; donating to provide healthcare workers in Western Kenya with motorcycles, so they can get to rural women in cases of emergency; and finally, you could buy the "No Woman, No Cry" soundtrack from Starbucks (almost 67% of the cost of the CD will be donated to Every Mother Counts to help with their efforts.)  Learn more about how you can help via this LINK.

The majority of these deaths occur in developing countries, but you may be surprised to know that the United States isn't a world leader when it comes to maternal health. The United States ranks 42 out of every country on earth for maternal health.  We trail Belarus and are one spot above Serbia.  As one of the most modern countries in the world, we have one of the worst maternal and infant health outcomes.  In my opinion, the main cause of this ranking is the disparity in maternal morbidity (physical and psychological disease) and mortality between social classes and races.  Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International, stated, "Mothers die not because the United States can't provide good care, but because it lacks the political will to make sure good care is available to all women."  It is shocking and offensive to me that immigrants, women who don't speak English, and minorities are dying of preventable maternal causes.  We need to support legislation and policy that makes it possible to provide prenatal and postpartum care to every woman, regardless of insurance status or ability to speak English or the color of their skin.

So, if you still haven't gotten a Mother's Day gift for your mom or sister or wife or friend, and aren't sure what to get, consider spending your money (in their name) where it could possibly make a difference.  Go to the Every Mother Counts website for possible ideas, donate to Amnesty International, or consider making your own birthing kit for a mother in need.  I am so grateful that all of the mothers in my life, including myself, had beautiful pregnancies, simple births, and are blessed with healthy babies.  It is my wish to see that become a reality for all women.

Happy Mother's Day...