Christy Turlington Burns: Why I care about maternal health (and why you should, too)

Today Moms brings inspiring story of Christy Turtlington Burns and her advocacy for improvement of maternal health. Former very succesful model with interest in yoga and health started campaigning after her own complicated delivery of her 1st child.

"I was so into my own experience and what was happening internally that it did not occur to me that so many women have such different experiences while pregnant. When I set out to make, “No Woman, No Cry,” a documentary about the state of maternal health around the world, I was constantly reminded of that period in my life when I felt so well looked after, cared for and prepared. The majority of women I encountered around the world while filming (and since) have none of the support or comforts that I enjoyed and most of them aren’t even aware that it’s their human right to have access to care. For many of the world's women, it is not only perceived to be an obligation to conceive and bear children, it is often believed that this is a woman's only purpose or value in life."

Christy also describes her scary childbirth which made her aware of maternal health issues:

"I had an unexpected and unpredictable complication – postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) -- after delivering my first child seven and a half years ago. After that harrowing experience, I started thinking about the realities for women around the world as they enter motherhood.

I learned that 15 percent of every pregnancy results in a complication and that many -- as with mine -- cannot be detected in advance. I learned that PPH was the leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide. "

Christy is founder of Every mother counts and producer/director of "No woman, no cry" short documentary about state of maternal health wordwide.