Birthin' Babies

Even if you've never seen all four hours of Gone With the Wind, you probably know the line: "I don't know nothin' about birthin' babies."

I can say that with conviction. I've never had a baby. I've never been in a delivery room with someone who has. (And here's a piece of Carol trivia that has nothing to do with where this post is going: I have changed only one diaper in my life.)

But I do know that the birth of a child is supposed to be a joyous time, in spite of the pain. That makes this TIME magazine article even more distressing. If you wish, start with the video or the picture gallery of Mamma Sessay, an 18-year-old from Sierra Leone, married since age 14, which chronicals her death while giving birth to twins. It's not supposed to be like this, but it is. In Sierra Leone for every 100 women who give birth, one of them dies (1033 per 100,000 births).

In Lancaster County, where I live, there were 7229 births in 2008 (the latest statistics available). An equivalent maternal mortality rate would be 72 women, one every five days. In reality the U.S. ratio is 16.6 women per 100,000, meaning Lancaster County is likely to have one maternal death a year. And the U.S. rate is nowhere near the best (we rank 39th in maternal mortality rates, behind countries like Lithuania and Slovakia). And Sierra Leone isn't the very worst (Afghanistan holds that distinction, with 1575 maternal deaths per 100,000 births).

The Millennium Development Goals set a goal to lower maternal mortality in 2015 by 75% from 2000 rates, but, according to the article, "only 12% of countries are on track to meet that target." The solutions aren't complicated—education, transportation to hospitals, access to medical care (prenatal as well as delivery)—but they aren't simple to execute.

And for those of us who are pro-life, it can be difficult to determine what agencies to support as some include access to abortion in their agendas. But "World Relief’s Maternal and Child Health Programs presently serve over 3.8 million people in 9 countries." You can feel confident donating to them. If you know of other pro-life–compatible organizations working to reduce maternal mortality, please list them (and provide links) in the comments section.