Category: midwives

  • Donate to Help Expecting Mothers in Haiti

    Donate to Help Expecting Mothers in Haiti

    It is difficult to believe how much Haiti is suffering. Not only was its president assassinated a little over a month ago, but a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit last weekend with a death toll now of over 1400. And, if that is not enough, a tropical storm is quickly barreling its way towards the island…

  • 2020 Marks The International Year of The Nurse and The Midwife  #SupportNursesAndMidwives

    2020 Marks The International Year of The Nurse and The Midwife #SupportNursesAndMidwives

    It is no surprise that the world needs more health workers. In fact, even though there are currently 22 million nurses and 2 million midwives globally there is an urgent need for 18 million more health workers in order to reach universal health care coverage by 2030 according to the World Health Organization. There is…

  • [WATCH] Video Shows Horrors of Childbirth in Sierra Leone #MaternalHealth

    The United Nations has designated Sierra Leone as the most dangerous place to have a baby. In fact, it has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births. On average, most women have at least six babies in Sierra Leone. In a previous post I mentioned the Aminata…

  • 11 Maternal Health Organizations to Support This Year

    11 Maternal Health Organizations to Support This Year

    Maternal mortality continues to be a major problem the world over. The United States is the only developed country where maternal death rates are increasing especially for non-Hispanic black women. And in low-and-middle income countries, approximately 830 women die each day from pregnancy-related, preventable causes.

  • [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…

  • 5 Maternal Health Interventions That Save Mothers’ Lives

    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…

  • 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…

  • Announcing #MaternalHealthChat Starting November 8 With Jacaranda Health

    Announcing #MaternalHealthChat Starting November 8 With Jacaranda Health

    We are very pleased and excited to announce our new weekly chats all about maternal health with some of the leading maternal health experts, researchers, practitioners, and organizations in the world under the #maternalhealthchat hashtag. Starting on Tuesday, November 8 at 1 PM EST with Jacaranda Health we will host 30-minute chats each week all about maternal and reproductive health…

  • 5 Ways This NGO is Helping Nepal’s Women Waste Workers

    5 Ways This NGO is Helping Nepal’s Women Waste Workers

    Nepal, while being a hotbed for adventure seekers, trekkers, tourists, and mountaineers, faces many economic struggles that heavily plague low-and middle-income countries. The vast majority of Nepal’s economy is based on remittances, with 25 percent of its working population living outside of the country. Additionally, with an average population age of 23, Nepal has a…

  • Better Maternal Care in Africa Can Save Women from Suffering in Childbirth

    Better Maternal Care in Africa Can Save Women from Suffering in Childbirth

    Kareemah Gamieldien, Cape Peninsula University of Technology Every year just over 500,000 women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth across the world. Another 20 million experience severe complications. But many of these complications are entirely avoidable – including obstructed and protracted labour and one of its side-effects, obstetric fistula. An obstetric fistula is a…

  • Maternal Health Around the World [Infographic]

    Maternal Health Around the World [Infographic]

    Brought to you by Nursing@Georgetown: Nurse Midwife programs Photo: United Nations  

  • Why Breastfeeding Matters to Babies and Mothers

    Why Breastfeeding Matters to Babies and Mothers

    This post was originally published today on the World Vision USA’s blog. When I visit low- and middle-income countries like Ethiopia, Zambia, the Philippines, and Tanzania, I am always heartened by the number of mothers I see breastfeeding their babies. Breastfeeding for so many of these mothers is the best and most affordable way for…