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.

If you would like to make a difference in the lives of women who are pregnant support these 41 organizations that work on the maternal health crisis.

UN Photo/Martine Perret