I'm pregnant

Last month I received an email entitled “I’m pregnant”. It was from Ruth, a campaigner with our friends the One campaign.

Ruth is having her baby in a few weeks. She was emailing me because she is troubled by the challenges faced by soon-to-be mothers like herself, who are living in extreme poverty.

After Ruth’s startling email, I was excited to learn that the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth has dropped - by more than a third. Leading medical journal The Lancet this week released a study that shows that since 1980, the number of maternal deaths per year have dropped from 500,000, to 343,000.¹

I was excited - we’re making progress! That’s a really significant drop! But then the second number stuck with me - 343,000. It’s a massive number, and it’s how many women die each year simply because they are pregnant and can't get adequate medical treatment.

I couldn’t fathom it - how can so many women die each year, from pregnancy? I’ve heard childbirth is unpleasant, but I couldn’t understand how it can take so many lives. I let my fingers do some walking, and came across this UNICEF video, which gave me a better understanding of the field of maternal health.

This week's Lancet study shows that the work being done by governments, NGOs and development organisations like IWDA, UNIFEM, and the White Ribbon Alliance are making a huge difference to the safety of mothers living in extreme poverty.

I’m using this week’s news as motivation to help build on this success, and make sure the world gets back on track to meet the fifth Millennium Development Goal - which focuses on reducing the proportion of mums who die through pregnancy and childbirth by three quarters.²

I’ve joined the White Ribbon Alliance - a maternal mortality campaign dedicated to promoting access to quality health care for women worldwide. I’ll be letting Australian leaders know that maternal health and international development are important to me, and supporting the great work of organisations like the Global Fund who are contributing to maternal health initiatives.

I'm looking forward to the day when all women can happily say “I’m pregnant”, without fear that it could cost them their lives. To find out more about women, health and extreme poverty, you can learn here.

¹The Lancet - http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%252810%252960518-1/fulltext

² The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals - http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/maternal.shtml

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