If you haven't checked out the Every Mother Counts website, you've GOT to get over there! This organization is geared toward raising awareness about world-wide maternal mortality, as well as supporting the achievement of the fifth Millennium Development Goal: Improve Maternal Health. Every Mother Counts is joined in their work by a large list of partners including Amnesty International, the American College of Midwives, The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, Planned Parenthood and even Starbucks Coffee.

Under the web page, Issue, readers find the reminder that "A woman dies every 90 seconds from complications of pregnancy. 90% of deaths are preventable." Beneath this, are the five barriers to reducing the astronomical world-wide maternal mortality rate:

• Insufficient access to emergency services
• Insufficient access to quality maternity care
• Insufficient/poor access to quality postpartum care
• Lack of financial means to access/pay for maternity care
• Lack of family planning education/methods

Chiefly behind Every Mother Counts, is Christy Turlington-Burns: mother of two, the Maternal Health Advocate for the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), a Masters of Public Health student at Columbia University and director of the film, No Woman No Cry - Every Mother Counts' primary awareness-raising tool. No Woman No Cry was featured in a film review here on Science & Sensibility by our own Christine Morton, PhD, following its west coast tour. The film will be released to wider viewing audiences this coming Saturday, May 7, at 9:30pm & 12:30 am (EST) on the Oprah Winfrey Network. You can watch a trailer of the film here, or get information on hosting a film watching party here.

The Every Mother Counts website invites you to Learn More, Take Action, Joint the Movement and Stay in Touch (to receive email updates on the organization's activities). Additionally, you can follow Christy Turlington-Burns on Twitter here.

"Half of the world's women give birth at home alone or with only a friend or relative to help. Skilled attendance at all births is considered to be the single most critical intervention for ensuring safe motherhood."

UPDATE: Watch Christy Turlington-Burns on NBC's Today Show talking about the issue of maternal mortality:

Published: May 01, 2011

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