It was the mid-1980s when the Followers lost their first laboring mother. For so many generations, the maternal mortality rate was zero. Then it happened again. In some families more than one young lady died in this way. We were told that it was a noble way to die. A sure way to heaven. Many young women were terrified of giving birth.
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Have you heard about former super model Christy Turlington's call to boycot Mother's Day this year?Here is a blurb from her organization's website (www.everymothercounts.org):
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Whether you are a mother or you just love one, you can educate people about this issue and help prevent it. Here are some important facts about maternal health around the world.
- Approximately 358,000 women die each year due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. That's one woman every 90 seconds.
- For every woman who dies each year in childbirth, 20-30 more suffer from lifelong debilitating disabilities.
- Pregnancy is the number one cause of death in women, ages 15-19, in the developing world. Nearly 70,000 young women die every year because their bodies are not ready for parenthood.
- Over 200 million women who would like to choose when they get pregnant don’t have access to family planning.
- The United States ranks 50th globally in maternal mortality, even though it spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world. African American women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than Caucasian women.
Almost all of these deaths are preventable.
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How do you remember those mothers who have died in labor and delivery? Do you have a story to telll? Please join the conversation below.
