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Why Kenya Needs to Adopt ‘Milk Banks’ to Reduce Infant Deaths
Elizabeth Kimani-Murage, Brown University Mother’s milk has an enormous impact on child survival. While in Kenya it has improved over the past decade, the number of children who die before five years remains significant. The rate has decreased from 115 per 1000 live births in 2003 to 52 in 2014. Neighbors Rwanda (2008), Tanzania (2012)…
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How World Vision Promotes Breastfeeding in the Philippines
I am always happy when World Breastfeeding Week rolls around each year. It gives me a chance to hear about the latest programs that are working around the world to increase breastfeeding rates. This year I learned about how World Vision is promoting breastfeeding in the Philippines through its 7-11 Core Intervention Framework which includes 7 interventions for women…
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How a Breastfeeding Initiative in Rural Kenya Changed Attitudes
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age. Alissa Everett/Reuters Judith Kimiywe, Kenyatta University and Elizabeth Kimani-Murage, Brown University There’s a growing global recognition of proper infant nutrition in the child’s first 1000 days of life. This can be monitored through encouraging proper nutrition during pregnancy and the first two years of life…
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Why Family Planning Matters for Maternal Deaths and Child Survival
Contraception empowers women to plan the number of children they will have. Tizta Tilahun Degfie, African Population and Health Research Center Family planning improves child survival and reduces maternal deaths. But the uptake of family planning in Africa is only 33%, nearly half the world average of 64%. The contraceptive prevalence rate in African countries…
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Ensuring Safer Pregnancies for Kenyan Women in Urban Slums
Antenatal care is important during pregnancy. Reuters Blessing Mberu, African Population and Health Research Center; Kanyiva Muindi, African Population and Health Research Center, and Patricia Elungata, McGill University Globally, there’s a general decline in the number of women who die from pregnancy or childbirth complications. However in Kenya, it remains high at 488 deaths per…
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Recent Thoughts on Global Maternal Health
As an ardent supporter and advocate for maternal health, I am always happy to share my thoughts about the issue with a wider audience. I recently shared my thoughts with Merck for Mothers, a 10-year $500 million initiative supporting women during pregnancy and childbirth. RT if you agree with @JenniferJames. We must work to #EndMaternalMortality. pic.twitter.com/UXKNyE3rdb…
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Increasing Caesarean Sections in Africa Could Save More Mothers’ Lives
Shutterstock Salome Maswime, University of the Witwatersrand and Gwinyai Masukume, University of the Witwatersrand Caesarean sections have been lifesaving procedures for hundreds of thousands of women across the world who experience complications during labour. Globally, it’s estimated that just under 20% of births take place via caesarean section – a percentage that’s gone up over…
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[Featured Video] Simple Birth Kit for Mothers in Developing World
Women in low-and-middle-income countries need clean birth kits in order to stave off deadly infections in themselves and their newborns. This is the case not only during home births with midwives but also in institutionalized settings. Zubaida Bai, founder of Ayzh, a social enterprise that creates clean, safe birthing kits for women as well as reproductive, newborn…
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Impress Mom With These Maternal Health Mother’s Day Gift Ideas + Giveaway
Mother’s Day is the perfect holiday to splurge on the moms in your life as well as to support moms around the world. It’s a day to show love for mothers we know and to also remain mindful of the mothers everywhere who may need a little or even a lot of help for them…
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5 Maternal Health Interventions That Save Mothers’ Lives
Every day 800 women die during childbirth or from pregnancy complications. This startling statistic represents women who not only live in sub-Saharan Africa where most maternal deaths occur but also throughout the world. In order to reduce the number of maternal deaths in low- and middle-income countries across the globe design teams, social entrepreneurs, innovators, and…
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Will Trump’s Global Family Planning Cuts Cause Side Effects?
Actress and U.N. Population Fund Goodwill Ambassador Ashley Judd visited a refugee camp in Mafraq, Jordan in 2016. AP Photo/Raad Adayleh Written by Rachel Sullivan Robinson, American University School of International Service President Donald Trump is leading an assault on family planning around the world. Most recently, his administration cut off U.S. contributions to the…
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New Maternal Health Mobile App for Tanzanian Women Seeks Crowdfunding
The more technology improves in low-and-middle income countries the quicker mobile apps will be invented and scaled to better people’s live. We already know that banking apps have transformed the exchange of money and have helped economies like Kenya’s thrive. Now, innovators are looking to create more and more mobile apps to transform health care…
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Residents in Southern Haiti Receive New Access to Quality Health Care
During my visit to Haiti two years ago I had the privilege of visiting two hospitals: L’Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley and L’Hôpital Sainte-Thérèse in Hinche, Haiti. Many of the patients at both hospitals, I learned, walked or took public transport over long distances for quality hospital care. As the poorest country in the…
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Despite Differences in Culture, US and India Fall Short in Childbirth in Similar Ways
Woman in labor, shown with monitors. Neel Shah, Harvard Medical School After eight years of practicing obstetrics and researching childbirth in the United States, I know as well as anyone that the American maternal health system could be better. Our way of childbirth is the costliest in the world. Our health outcomes, from mortality rates…
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Midwives and The Right of Women to Give Birth the Way They Want
Lydia Mwanzia, Moi University Giving birth is a significant life event that should aim for a healthy baby and mother. There are growing calls for women to give birth in their preferred birth positions. But this requires midwives to be trained in a way that enables them to respect the choices that women make. The…
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Video: The Global Gag Rule Explained
More than likely you have heard about the Global Gag Rule also known as the Mexico City Policy this week. You can learn more about it in a previous post: Why the Global Gag Rule Will Increase Maternal Mortality. To get right to the point, however, Planned Parenthood released this video: What is the Global…
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Why The Global Gag Rule Will Increase Maternal Mortality
Throughout my visits to clinics in Africa I have seen the work of Marie Stopes International in South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia as well as Zambia. They provide a full range of quality reproductive health services for women. I have always been impressed by the comprehensive care they provide. Now, their work will be hampered because…
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10 Organizations and Birth Centers That Save Black Mothers’ Lives #MaternalHealth (Updated)
All maternal mortality and morbidity data in the United States report the same thing: black women die in disproportionately high numbers when compared to non-Hispanic white women. In fact, black women are four times more likely to die during or after childbirth than white women. One of the biggest statistics is black women — no…
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9 Facts We Learned in 2016 About Maternal Mortality in the United States
Texas has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world. (Source) In Texas, cardiac events, overdose by licit or illicit prescription drugs, and hypertensive disorders are the leading causes of maternal death. (Source) White women had the highest rates of diagnosed mental illness of any kind (depression as well as other psychological illnesses)…
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Double Your Donation Today By Giving to World Vision #GivingTuesday
When I travel to low-income countries I am most interested in learning about and reporting on maternal and newborn health. As a mother of two daughters it is my biggest passion. Today on Giving Tuesday I am proud to work with one of my favorite international nonprofit organizations: World Vision USA. I had the distinct opportunity…