Maternal health at #BlogHer15

I was thrilled to see that the topic of Maternal Health as a panel session. I wasn’t able to attend, but I want to share what was covered at Blogher15. Because it is such an amazingly important topic. Every mother deserves to have the moment I had with my daughter in the above picture. Yet, sadly, many women don’t.

Most of us in developed countries don’t give much of a thought to health of the the mother in pregnancy. We worry about miscarriage, birth defects, and stillbirth. We worry about premature births and SIDS and other causes of infant death. But how much time do we commit to thinking about the safety and health of the mother? But apparently we should. Here is some information from Every Mother Counts. – Giving Birth in America Fact Sheet.

THE CHALLENGES OF MATERNAL HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES

• Three women die every day in the U.S. from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. (WHO)
• The U.S. is one of just eight countries with a rising maternal mortality rate. Others include: Afghanistan, Belize, El Salvador, Guinea-Bissau, Greece, Seychelles, and South Sudan. (The Lancet, 2014)
• The U.S. ranks 60th in the world for maternal health. (The Lancet, 2014)

Blogher assembled a panel of experts to discuss the topic of Maternal Health this July. On the panel: Christy Turlington Burns, model, advocate, and founder of the organization Every Mother Counts, was one of the speakers on a panel dedicated to discussing maternal health issues in America; Yasmeen Hassan of the organization Equality Now; and Chanel Porchia-Albert, founder and executive director of the Brooklyn based Ancient Song Doula Services.

As part of the efforts to bring awareness to the Maternal Health issues in America, Every Mother Counts has put together a series Giving Birth in America. Please watch the trailer below.

Every Mother Counts presents a new documentary series, “Giving Birth in America,” to examine some of the contributing factors that have made the U.S. one of eight countries with a rising maternal mortality rate. “Giving Birth In America” highlights barriers mothers face in some parts of the country including, New York, Florida, and Montana.

Every Mother Counts is beginning production on the 4th part of the series focusing on maternal healthcare in the District of Columbia, which has the worst maternal mortality rate in the U.S. (Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers Report) The series will premiere online later this year.

Visit www.everymothercounts.org for regular updates on the series, and share the trailer with #GivingBirthInAmerica.

Mission of Every Mother Counts:

WE ARE A MATERNAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION THAT LINKS MOTHERS TO PROVIDERS OF ESSENTIAL CARE BY ADDRESSING THESE THREE BARRIERS TO MATERNAL HEALTH:

• Transportation
• Education
• Supplies