Make Motherhood Safer for all Women

Honor your mother this Mother's Day by pledging your support for programs that make motherhood safer for all women and their families worldwide.

Each year, over 500,000 women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. That's one woman every minute. The vast majority of these deaths occur in the developing world, primarily in Africa and Asia. Compounding the tragedy is the increased risk to children, who are many times more likely to die when they lose their mothers.

The good news is that solutions are close by. Simple, cost-effective investments can drastically reduce the risk women face in childbirth. The World Health Organization estimates that less than two-thirds of women in less developed countries are assisted by skilled attendants during childbirth, a critical intervention. And, access to reproductive health care and voluntary family planning services has been proven to have an enormous impact by allowing women to limit and space their childbearing to healthier intervals.

Despite the enormous need, U.S. support for international family planning programs has declined by almost 40% over the past decade. Take action now to increase U.S. support for these vital programs that offer families around the world access to maternal health care, HIV/AIDS prevention, education and contraceptives -- and save lives.

  

THE PLEDGE

This Mother's Day, I honor those women who bring new life to the world, despite the risks. I join the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) in urging the United States Congress to restore a decade of declining funding for international family planning programs by committing $1 billion to these vital programs in the coming year.