Every preventable maternal death is a reminder that our democracy means nothing if it cannot protect its citizens.
Being aware of the vast possibilities of birth and the options available before labor occurs is not an option; it’s a necessity.
While far-reaching and complex, maternal mortality is not an unsolvable problem; it’s just neglected.
Legislators in my home state of Connecticut are trying to address this problem.
Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than are white women. The new documentary Aftershock tells the stories of some of those women, and how their families are channeling grief into action.
On March 9, the Mississippi House of Representatives killed a bill that would have allowed mothers to keep Medicaid coverage for a year after giving birth.
Only one gynecologist serves the 8,000 to 13,000 people of reproductive age who need those services in the municipality of Shuto Orizari in North Macedonia’s capital city, the only municipality with a Roma majority in the country. And as of last month, he’s no longer on duty.
Doctors in Nigeria have gone on strike at least four times since the start of the pandemic over unpaid wages; its last ended on October 4, after 63 days. We have no way of measuring the consequences for women and children, who were unable to access medical care in that time.
In Kashmir, a longstanding history of mistrust with the Indian central government stands in the way of more people getting vaccinated — including pregnant women, who are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Experts fear that disruptions in health services could aggravate India’s already high maternal mortality and child mortality rates.
Infant formula brands are exploiting public health concerns by falsely suggesting they offer protection against COVID-19, according to new research.
Pregnant workers in the tea gardens of Assam, a northeastern state in India, lack access to basic health care facilities, much less to the comprehensive maternity care they need to ensure healthy pregnancies. And the confluence of poverty, lack of access, and lack of awareness speak to why the state's maternal mortality ratio is double that of India's average and the highest in the country.
The crises that compel refugees to attempt the dangerous journey to Europe haven't ended. Many, including pregnant women, continue to risk drowning, meeting violent pushbacks at sea and land borders, living in unsafe conditions in the camps, and facing racist violence and discrimination.
Months after Turkish forces launched an offensive in the Rojava region, which some have likened to genocide, a rise in miscarriages sheds light on the unseen impacts of the occupation.
Zimbabwe's maternal mortality crisis is pushing the debate on abortion, but the current economic crisis and stigma stand in the way of legalization.
The Trump administration’s latest use of domestic politics to hold international rights hostage will cost women's lives.
As Venezuela spirals from rampant hyperinflation and violent political clashes, a health crisis has stricken the South American country, it’s the most vulnerable migrants—children, babies and pregnant women—who are being hit the hardest.