Maternal Health

9 ways racism impacts maternal health

Redefining maternal health is the goal of this conversation. We need to question our perceived notions of the “good mother,” supported through her pregnancy, encouraged to reproduce, usually identified as white, middle class and heterosexual. And we must question our ideas of the “bad mother” — generally not supported through her pregnancy, sometimes even discouraged to reproduce, usually identified as African/Black, Indigenous, racialized and poor.

Black Mothers Share the Devastating Impact of Racism in Maternal Health Care

“For every woman that dies,” says Elizabeth Dawes Gay, steering committee chair of Black Mamas Matter Alliance, “there are so many more who are affected by traumatic experiences and adverse events, who have conditions and illnesses related to pregnancy, that we need to be thinking about and helping.”

How Technology Is Closing The Gap In Maternal Healthcare

As technology transforms the healthcare industry, experts say digital health has the potential to reshape every step of health care delivery, including for women’s maternal health.

It's Time To Demand More When It Comes To Black Maternal Health

Black women are dying at four times the rate of white women. And, the United States is one of the only 13 countries in the world where maternal mortality rates are worse than they were 25 years ago. These outcomes persist, no matter how many terminal degrees you have or how much you make.

New US guidelines aim to change the sorry state of medical care for new moms

Babies are most vulnerable during their first month of life—and so it makes sense that newborns are carefully monitored by doctors and other health-care providers. But in the US, too often, that comes at the expense of the health of new moms, who are also at risk during the weeks after giving birth.

This Mother's Day, Daily Karma Is Focusing On Raising Awareness For Maternal Mental Health

Maternal mental health is in the spotlight now more than ever. And for good reason: up to 20 percent of all women (and nearly 50 percent of women living in poverty) will suffer from a postpartum mental disorder, like postpartum depression. Pregnancy itself is dangerous and potentially traumatic: there’s a rising C-section rate in the U.S. (stemming from 1 in 333 pregnancies resulting in placenta accretta these days). Every day more than 800 women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.

When Will the US Protect Black Women From Dying in Childbirth?

Across the United States, politicians are taking steps toward enacting legislation that reduces racist bias against pregnant Black women and infants. But there's still a challenging journey ahead.

Game Changers: Where Would our World be without Them?

This is a book of stories about the differences game changers are making in a part of the world where the game desperately needs changing.

8 apps revolutionizing maternal health care in developing nations

Over 800 women globally die each day from preventable causes related to childbirth and pregnancy, and 99 percent of these women live in developing nations, according to the World Health Organization. This scourge of preventable deaths is largely the result of health care “deserts” — regions where accessing proper care is unrealistic due to travel time or financial cost.

Call the Midwife

Though still a relative novelty in the U.S., midwife-led maternity care is the norm in other developed countries, including most of Europe.

Childbirth Still a Risky Undertaking in Many Countries

The U.N. has made improving maternal health a major goal for 2015, but progress has been slow despite good science on what makes motherhood safer.

Dying To Give Birth: 3 Reasons American Women Are Dying of Pregnancy Complications

Worldwide, 1 woman dies every 2 minutes from pregnancy-related complications. And for every woman who dies, approximately 20 others suffer serious injuries, infections or disabilities.

Has Maternal Mortality Really Doubled in the U.S.?

Statistics have suggested a sharp increase in the number of American women dying as a complication of pregnancy since the late 1980s, but a closer look at the data hints that all is not as it seems.

In Focus: Targeting Maternal Care

The most prominent of recent maternal care improvement initiatives are those that seek to curtail the practice of electively delivering babies before 39 weeks, either through inductions or cesareans, without a medical indication.

India's Maternal Care Crisis: Is There A Solution?

Many women, who come from vulnerable communities in India, face severe health risks and suffer through complicated pregnancies. Social struggles such as domestic violence, dowry harassment, and early marriage continue to cripple their access to primary health care.

Maternal Health Care Is Disappearing in Rural America

Many women must travel an hour or longer to find a hospital where they can deliver their babies.

Millennial Women Are Worse Off Than Their Mothers

While young women of the baby-boom generation saw rapid progress in terms of economic equality, health and overall well-being compared to their mothers, that trend has started to reverse for young millennial women...

Progress on maternal mortality hindered by ‘funding mismatch’

There is little doubt that advances have been made in tackling women’s and children’s health in recent decades, a process that has been partly accelerated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since 2000.

Stop Blaming Black Women for the Black Maternal Health Crisis and Start Blaming American Workplaces

Although politicians often tie these poor outcomes to drug use or poverty in black communities, a study done by the American Public Health Association showed that those traditional risk factors do not predict the racial differences in low birth weight, a health factor often linked to infant mortality. In other words, black mothers are not to blame for the loss of their own children, as politicians and local media outlets might claim. So what is?

Women Moving Millions, Every Mother Counts Unite for Maternal Health

In 2008, over half a million women died from complications stemming from pregnancy and childbirth. After ten years of campaigning, maternal mortality rates have dropped, but as of 2018 there are still more than 300,000 deaths attributed to maternal mortality each year. By the numbers, a woman dies from maternal health issues every two minutes. Over the course of a one-hour seminar, that’s thirty childbirth-related deaths.

Save the Mothers

Save the Mothers promotes maternal health in the developing world through education, public awareness and advocacy. Based in Uganda and North America, Save The Mothers is part of a global movement to improve the health of mothers and babies.

Black Mamas Matter Alliance

Black Mamas Matter Alliance is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice.

Every Mother Counts

Together, we can make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere.

Maternal Health Task Force

The Maternal Health Task Force believes that a strong, well-informed and integrated community with equitable access to high-quality technical evidence is critical to our goal of eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.

Maternity Worldwide

Maternity Worldwide’s vision is of a world in which all women and their babies can access safe and appropriate childbirth regardless of where they live.

SafeHands for Mothers

SafeHands for Mothers uses the power of photography and film to spark change around the world.

Saving Mothers

Because no women should die giving life.

The Blue Dot Project

Maternal mental health disorders like postpartum depression are the #1 complication of childbirth.

The White Ribbon Alliance

White Ribbon Alliance unites citizens to demand the right to a safe birth for every woman, everywhere. Our mission is to inspire and convene advocates who campaign to uphold the right of all women to be safe and healthy before, during and after childbirth.

Women Deliver

Women Deliver believes that when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins. As a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights, and wellbeing, Women Deliver catalyzes action by bringing together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, with a particular focus on maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights.

Women Moving Millions

We are a community of women (and a few good men) who have committed a million (dollars)* or more to initiatives that advance the lives of women and girls.

California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative

The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative is a multi-stakeholder organization committed to ending preventable morbidity, mortality and racial disparities in California maternity care. CMQCC uses research, quality improvement toolkits, state-wide outreach collaboratives and its innovative Maternal Data Center to improve health outcomes for mothers and infants.

Campaign to End Fistula

By working to prevent fistula, the global Campaign to End Fistula aims to reduce the ongoing tragedy of maternal death and injury. The experiences of women who narrowly survived traumatic deliveries help us understand what is wrong with health services and impart urgency to the challenge of preventing this tragedy from recurring.

Citizens Post

We're calling for citizens to report on women's and children's health in their communities and from the Citizen Hearings

Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care

Continually improve patient safety in women’s health care through multidisciplinary collaboration that drives culture change

Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program

Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) has worked in more than 50 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean to improve the health of women and their families. MCHIP supports programming in maternal, newborn and child health, immunization, family planning, nutrition, malaria and HIV/AIDS, and encourages opportunities for integration of programs and services when feasible. MCHIP addresses the barriers to accessing and using key evidence-based interventions across the life stages—from pre-pregnancy to age 5—by linking communities, primary health facilities and hospitals.

Our Moment of Truth

The purpose of Our Moment of Truth™ is to improve women’s health and maternity care in the United States by re-introducing midwives and midwifery care as important options that should be the norm for women’s health care services.

CARE

Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of women die from complications during pregnancy or childbirth each year – that's one woman dying every 90 seconds – and millions more are left with life-altering disabilities. In some countries, one in seven women dies in pregnancy or childbirth. These women aren't dying because the health community doesn't know how to prevent their deaths; they are dying because the world is failing to help.

WHO

Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. While motherhood is often a positive and fulfilling experience, for too many women it is associated with suffering, ill-health and even death. The major direct causes of maternal morbidity and mortality include haemorrhage, infection, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labour.

World Bank

Investing in better maternal health not only improves a mother’s health and that of her family, but also increases the number of women in the workforce and promotes the economic well-being of communities and countries. Untreated pregnancy and birth complications mean that 10-20 million women become disabled every year, undermining their ability to support their families.