Honoring the World's Mothers this Mother’s Day

May 3, 2005—Like many Americans this Mother’s Day, I look forward to spending time with my family. I celebrate my mother and all the other mothers that I have watched over the years. I have seen them make great sacrifices for their children. They wake in the middle of night to deal with sick children, they shuttle from one lesson to the next, they work extra jobs to make ends meet, and they worry even once their children have children of their own.

But these sacrifices, as substantial as they may be, stand in startling contrast to the sacrifice many women make around the world in the name of motherhood.

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. These numbers can’t even begin to tell the story of how precious each individual mother’s life is to her family, community and nation. 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. And, according to the UN Population Fund, many couples still do not have access to family planning services that could help women space their pregnancies to healthier intervals.

For young mothers, the challenges are even more substantial. The healthiest mothers are those who are able to delay childbirth until their bodies have matured. The longer girls are able to stay into school, the better are their chances. Education opens up a world of options for girls, and helps delay the age of marriage and childbearing.

I was reminded of education’s power while visiting one of CEDPA’s training programs last month in Mithapur, India. There I met Subhardra, a teenage girl who participated in our Choose a Future! program. She told me about her hopes and dreams; she stands as a testament to the value of girls’ education.

CEDPA is committed to the fight to save mother’s lives. CEDPA hosts the Global Secretariat and is part of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, a worldwide movement to strengthen local community capacity, influence policies and inspire actions to save women’s lives. CEDPA also has many community partners in countries around the world who are in the forefront of efforts to improve the health of women and their children.

This Mother’s Day, I hope you will join me in honoring those women who bring new life to the world, despite the risks. There is hope for the future, if we mobilize the will. Our communities and nations must recommit to investing in women and girls' health and education, so that healthier mothers can have healthier children.

Our mothers will thank us.

For more information on the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, go to White Ribbon Alliance. To learn more about the alliance in India, go to White Ribbon Alliance-India.