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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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Seeking Stories on Reproductive Health
World Pulse, a social network connecting women who work for change, is currently looking for stories on reproductive health and choices. World Pulse’s story prompt: How do the laws in your country affect your reproductive health and choices? What are the most important victories, setbacks, and pressing issues you face? Do you have a story about…
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Why The Eagle Huntress Is An Empowering Film for Young Girls
The Eagle Huntress narrated by Daisy Ridley follows the wonderful story of a teenage girl named Aisholpan who becomes the first eagle huntress in Mongolia. We are introduced to Aisholpan at a boarding school located in a small town miles from her nomadic home because schools are quite far from where she lives. It’s the last day of school…
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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…
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Maternal Malnutrition Affects Future Generations: Kenya Must Break the Cycle
By Elizabeth Echoka, Kenya Medical Research Institute and Lydia Kaduka, Kenya Medical Research Institute Nutrition of women before and during pregnancy and when breastfeeding is critical in determining the health and survival of the mother and of her unborn baby. Undernourished pregnant women have higher reproductive risks. They are more likely to experience obstructed labour, or…
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Nepali Women Increase Earning Potential Through Business Training #5by20
The energy and enthusiasm was palpable as we walked into a room full of eager women entrepreneurs role-playing the everyday dynamic between business owners and their customers. While the room was loaded with fun and laughter during this exercise, its importance was not lost on any of the women who had come to the campus…
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Day 1 Dispatch: In Nepal With Coca-Cola #NepalNow
It’s been raining virtually nonstop since we arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday morning. There were downpours all day without any let up until the evening. I hope we get to see the sun on Tuesday. It’s the end of the monsoon season in Nepal, but I don’t think the weather quite wants to get rid of…
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Why We’re Traveling to Nepal With Coca-Cola #NepalNow #5by20
Last year I remember exactly where I was when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25. I was on my way to Haiti to report on maternal health, and really good friends of mine from the International Reporting Project had been in Nepal for a very short time on a reporting trip when the quake hit.…
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Why a new vaginal ring could be a game-changer in HIV prevention
Thesla Palanee-Phillips, University of the Witwatersrand The results of the two studies showing that a vaginal ring can help reduce the risk HIV infection among women is being hailed as an important HIV prevention breakthrough. Launched four years ago, the two clinical trials, known as ASPIRE and The Ring Study, set out to determine how…
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Blog Action Day: Raising Voices Against Brutality, Inequality in Education & Other Worldwide Injustices
We live in an amazing time in the world. Technology has changed so much about the way we live and what we now consider to be basic necessities. But beyond things like cell phones, iPads, text messaging and email, one of the most important ways that technology has impacted our lives is that it has given people all…
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Our Instagram Takeover With the Liya Kebede Foundation
Last week we partnered with the Liya Kebede Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that supports safe motherhood initiatives, on an Instagram takeover to discuss maternal health in India. I was delighted to share photos from Delhi where I saw Save the Children’s maternal health work in one of Delhi’s slums, Okhla. Below see the photos and…
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Pregnancy Loss Cards Help Families, Friends Deal With Miscarriage
In the United States, miscarriages cause the loss of between 15 to 20 percent of reported pregnancies, or around 750,000 each year. Miscarriages are painful times for women and often family and friends do not know how to properly empathize. Dr. Jessica Zucker, a Los Angeles based psychologist and writer, specializing in women’s reproductive and maternal mental…
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An Unexpected Question About Toilets: Day 1 in India With Mandy Moore
By Mandy Moore, PSI Ambassador This morning for breakfast, I joined the PSI India team with their partners and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to learn that they are building toilets and developing a sanitation system in Bihar by turning the traditional nonprofit model on its head. PSI India has developed a social enterprise…
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Instagram Photo About U.S. Maternal Mortality You Don’t Want to Miss
Earlier this year I wrote about the important maternal mortality art work of Chicago-based artist and activist, Michelle Hartney and her plan to sew 1,200 hospital gowns for her performance art, MOTHER’S RIGHT — one for every woman who died in the US during childbirth in 2013. Hartney will perform this piece on September 7th at the…
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Maternal Health Heroes: Interview With Christy Turlington Burns #MHHSS
We are excited to publish our fifth interview in our Maternal Health Heroes Summer Series with Christy Turlington Burns, Founder of Every Mother Counts. Throughout the summer we will speak with some of the most notable maternal health advocates in the world ahead of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference that will be held in Mexico City between October 18 – 21, 2015.…
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Maternal Health Heroes: Interview With Liya Kebede #MHHSS
We are excited to publish our fourth interview in our Maternal Health Heroes Summer Series with Liya Kebede, Supermodel and Founder of the Liya Kebede Foundation. Throughout the summer we will speak with some of the most notable maternal health advocates in the world ahead of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference that will be held in Mexico City between October 18 – 21,…
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Maternal Health Heroes: Interview With Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese #MHHSS
We are happy to publish our third interview in our Maternal Health Heroes Summer Series with Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese, Founder and Executive Director of Save the Mothers. Throughout the summer we will speak with some of the most notable maternal health advocates in the world ahead of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference that will be held in Mexico City between October 18 –…
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Kenya is a Breastfeeding Success Story But Still Has Its Challenges
By Elizabeth Kimani-Murage, Brown University Breastfeeding has both short-term and long-term nutritional benefits for children. Nutrition is central to sustainable development. Good nutrition in the first 1000 days of a child’s life is critical for child growth, well being and survival, and future productivity. The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for children until they are six…