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Video March 25, 2015 Jennifer James Leave a comment

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Social Good Moms is a blog dedicated to maternal health and women's and girls' causes and issues. We write about the issues and highlight the organizations, leaders, and non-profits that working towards change. Read more about us, how we work, and how to work with us.

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A few years ago I was honored to speak at Blogher with Merck for Mothers. The panel was about maternal health outcomes globally as well as in the United States. As I have mentioned so many times on this blog, the United States leads the developing world with maternal health deaths. This number is exaccerbated by the sheer number of black women who die from pregnancy and delivery complications.

One of the key points we honed in on during the panel was the importance of women being advocates for themselves with their healthcare providers when they feel something is wrong. But, that is not always easy. Take Serena Williams for example. She basically had to beg doctors and nurses to get a CT scan to see if her lung had blood clots which she routinely got as an athlete. They finally relented and what did they find? Blood clots in her lungs. Serena saved her own life.

Many women, especially black women, are not afforded the opportunity to simply get a doctor or nurse to believe that they do not feel well and oftentimes their lives are hanging in the balance. In fact, NPR and ProPublica gathered over 200 stories from black women who felt that they had been “devalued and disrespected by medical providers” during their pregnancies.

I regularly watch a Youtube channel called R&L Life, a cute family channel out of Florida. The mother, Rachael, recently delivered her son and a few days later she had preeclampsia symptoms with massive swelling and high blood pressure. She and her husband went to her doctor only to discover she could have a seizure at any time because of her high blood pressure. She needed to be rushed to the hospital for oral medication and a magnesium drip.
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[VIDEO] Mother Advocates for Her Own Health After Delivery And Preeclampsia #BlackMaternalHealth
August 9, 2020 Jennifer James Leave a comment
The United Nations has designated Sierra Leone as the most dangerous place to have a baby. In fact, it has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 1,360 deaths per 100,000 live births. On average, most women have at least six babies in Sierra Leone.

In a previous post I mentioned the Aminata Maternal Foundation that helps pregnant women in Sierra Leone. An Australian organization, it was started by a woman, Aminata Conteh-Biger, who became a sex slave during the Liberian Civil War. Now, she is giving back to expectant mothers after so many years away from her home country.

This video shows the work of the Aminata Maternal Foundation and how it oftentimes becomes difficult for young pregnant girls to receive permission from family and elders to deliver in a hospital or health center. It also shows the frustration of healthcare workers who try to teach entire villages about the importance of proper maternal healthcare.

To help more mothers deliver safely in Sierra Leone you can donate monthly or one time at aminatamaternalfoundation.org/donate.

Related

[WATCH] Video Shows Horrors of Childbirth in Sierra Leone #MaternalHealth
September 1, 2019 Jennifer James Leave a comment

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Photo Essay: Standing in Line for Voluntary Male Circumcision
January 29, 2016 Jennifer James Leave a comment
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The Priceless Reaction of a Baby Being Vaccinated #Haiti
April 30, 2015 Jennifer James 1 Comment

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Nepal Reporting Trip

Nepal Reporting Trip With Coca-Cola In September 2016 we traveled with Coca-Cola to Nepal to see their earthquake relief efforts as well as their work with local NGOs in and around Kathmandu.

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