On Saturday morning, a rare moment occurred in my household. MacDad and MacBaby napped together and I got a moment to myself! I took advantage of the time to read the latest issue of Vogue and learned about supermodel Christy Turlington's involvement in preventing international maternal deaths. According the the article, "half a million women die in childbirth every year, a figure that has changed little in 20 years." Her research led her to finance a documentary filmed in Bangladesh, Tanzania and Guatemala following mothers and their treatment during pregnancy. She's advocating for change while working with CARE's Mothers Matter program, in addition to raising her own two kids.
Pregnancy and childbirth are scary as is, I can't imagine facing these issues in an underdeveloped country. Thinking about my own experience, I'm certain that MacBaby would have suffered permanent damage had it not been for the expertise of the medical team treating me. I had a c-section because dilation was not progressing. When they took out MacBaby, they realized the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck three times. Thankfully, he was fine, but I thought for weeks about what could have happened.
I know I won't follow Christy Turlington's example and go back to school for my master's degree in public health, but I will continue learning about this important issues and determining how I can make a difference to moms and babies in need around the world.
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