Maternal health and mortality, especially in the world’s poorest countries, are serious global issues. I blog about maternal health a lot here because it is important to continue spreading awareness about the rate at which women are dying during childbirth which causes complete families to splinter.
800 women die in childbirth every day and those deaths are largely preventable. Most of these deaths are caused by severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth), infections (usually after childbirth), high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia) complications from delivery, and unsafe abortion according to the World Health Organization.
That said, I found seven YouTube videos that bring to life the plight of women who are pregnant in sub-Saharan Africa. I chose these videos because most maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
By Anna Dirksen, PSI Consultant
The countdown to royal baby number two is underway, with many speculating that Prince George’s little brother or sister could arrive as early as this week. Media reports suggest Kate Middleton already has her bags packed and is ready for her return trip to the private wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London. There, she’s expected to meet a team of top doctors and nurses, including an obstetrician, a surgeon-gynaecologist, and a neonatologist.
If every child could be born under such conditions, the world would be a much happier place for moms and their newborn babies. Unfortunately, this is far from the case. Every day, nearly 350,000 women give birth and 800 die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth — that’s one woman every two minutes. 99% of those deaths occur in developing countries.
Continue reading What If Kate Middleton Gave Birth Like the Average Woman?
Today is the 2nd annual International Day of Maternal Health and Rights which calls attention to and demands action for the right of every woman to respectful maternity care no matter where she lives in the world. This is critical because a woman dies in childbirth every two minutes totalling nearly 300,000 maternal deaths each year. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths are wholly preventable.
Many pregnant women are also subject to excessive, disrespectful care including verbal and physical abuse during pregnancy and childbirth as well as denial of care and demands for payment before care. As these scenarios continue more awareness needs to be made about quality, respectful care for every pregnant woman. It’s their right!
1. aroadlesstravelled @ARLTafric: Working with nomadic pastoralist communities in Ethiopia & Kenya to improve maternal & child health.
2. ARROW @ARROW_Women: Championing Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights #SRHR #SRHR4all
3. CAN-MNCH @CAN_MNCH: Over 80 organizations working to improve the lives of women, babies and children in over 1,000 regions around the world. Team Canada!
4. CARE(care.org) @CARE: CARE fights global poverty by empowering girls and women. Visit http://CARE.org and join us.
5. CHANGE @genderhealth: The Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) works to advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls worldwide.
Continue reading 41 Maternal Health Organizations to Follow and Support #IntlMHDay
To kick off World Health Worker Week (April 5 – 11) we are sharing photos and stories of some of the health workers we’ve met around the world over the years who work tirelessly to keep women, children, and families healthy and most importantly alive.