Make Me Care About Maternal Mortality

04/12/23 • 27 min

When it goes well, giving birth can be a wonderful experience, but, when it goes wrong, it can be deadly for mother and child alike. Too often, where you live, your access to quality care, and in some places the color of your skin determines whether or not you live or die during birth.

This episode features Jen Hatmaker, an American author, speaker, blogger, and television presenter, in conversation with Eva Lathrop, Global Medical Director for Population Services International, and Elaine Welteroth, an award-winning journalist, TV host, and author. Eva shares how almost 300,000 women die every year from childbirth and pregnancy, and almost all of them are preventable. Maternal deaths have been increasing in the United States and are high in low and middle income countries around the world, with Black and native women in the US (along with women who are pregnant and delivering over 40 and women who have preexisting medical conditions) being most at risk for complications and death during pregnancy. Better investments in quality antenatal care, prenatal care, interpartum care, and postpartum care can help prevent both maternal and neonatal deaths. Elaine shares how inequity in maternal deaths can be addressed by changing policy and improving the medical and insurance system (including supporting health workers) to deliver accessible and affordable quality care. Midwives provide unique support, respect, and care to their patients and are a promising solution.

Make Me Care About is produced by Magnificent Noise in partnership with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

To learn more about our show: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/podcast/make-me-care-about

For more on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s work: https://www.gatesfoundation.org

To learn more about maternal mortality:

Gender Equality Strategy: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/gender-equality/gender-equality

Maternal, Infant and Child Health: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/gender-equality/maternal-newborn-and-child-health

For more on the work of our guest, Elaine Welteroth: https://www.elainewelteroth.com/

Learn more about our host, Jen Hatmaker: https://jenhatmaker.com

Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi, Hiwote Getaneh, Julia Natt, and our sound designer Kristin Mueller. Our Executive Producer is Eric Nuzum and the host is Jen Hatmaker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Make Me Care About is produced by Magnificent Noise in partnership with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

To learn more about our show: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/podcast/make-me-care-about

For more on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s work: https://www.gatesfoundation.org

To learn more about maternal mortality:

Gender Equality Strategy: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/gender-equality/gender-equality

Maternal, Infant and Child Health: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/gender-equality/maternal-newborn-and-child-health

For more on the work of our guest, Elaine Welteroth: https://www.elainewelteroth.com/

Learn more about our host, Jen Hatmaker: https://jenhatmaker.com

Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi, Hiwote Getaneh, Julia Natt, and our sound designer Kristin Mueller. Our Executive Producer is Eric Nuzum and the host is Jen Hatmaker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Make Me Care About Syringes

Vaccines have made headlines over the past few years, but what do you know about the syringes used to deliver them? Misused, syringes have the potential to spread more disease than the medicines they carry can prevent. Yet one innovation is eliminating that risk. Learn the simple solution making syringes safer for everyone.

Summary: This episode features Jen Hatmaker, an American author, speaker, blogger, and television presenter, in conversation with Surabhi Rajaram, a Program Officer focused on Immunization Delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Surabhi shares how safe syringes are critical to vaccine delivery and life-saving immunization. A safe syringe prevents the spread of illness in that process. This is called the auto disabled syringe, which has a special feature that physically prevents the user from being able to withdraw the syringe again and includes a fixed needle and dose. As seen with COVID, a disease (health threat) in one place becomes a threat anywhere. A way to prepare for these threats is by investing in effective and scalable syringe manufacturing and considering how to improve the entire vaccine supply chain through innovations like the auto disabled syringe.

Make Me Care About is produced by Magnificent Noise in partnership with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

To learn more about our show: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/podcast/make-me-care-about

For more on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s work: https://www.gatesfoundation.org

To learn more about the topic of syringes:

Vaccine Development and Surveillance: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-health/vaccine-development-and-surveillance

Amid surging demand for syringes, a new investment supports long-term supply on the African continent: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/syringe-vaccine-distribution-in-africa

PATH Syringe GAP analysis: https://www.path.org/resources/autodisable-syringe-gap-analysis/

UNICEF Syringes explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckosI9k-yGU

Learn more about our host, Jen Hatmaker: https://jenhatmaker.com

Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi, Hiwote Getaneh, Julia Natt, and our sound designer Kristin Mueller. Our Executive Producer is Eric Nuzum and the host Jen Hatmaker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Make Me Care About Garbanzo Beans

Garbanzo Beans

Most of us eat garbanzo beans in our hummus or salads. What you might not know is that these little round legumes are actually one of the world’s best ingredients to improving gut health and tackling malnutrition. From our mental health to our immune system, garbanzo beans could be key to living a healthy life.

This episode features Jen Hatmaker, an American author, speaker, blogger, and television presenter, in conversation with Vanessa Ridaura, a Senior Program Officer for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Jen and Vanessa discuss how garbanzo beans and other functional foods show how we can use foods to improve gut and microbiome health as well as tackle malnutrition. This also aids our immune system and our mental health. To increase global health, we need to focus on producing foods locally as there are challenges with accessibility, implementation, and compliance when sourcing food from other continents.

Make Me Care About is produced by Magnificent Noise in partnership with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

To learn more about our show: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/podcast/make-me-care-about

For more on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s work: https://www.gatesfoundation.org

To learn more about Garbanzo Beans and gut health:

Nutrition Strategy : https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-growth-and-opportunity/nutrition

MNCH D&T: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/gender-equality/maternal-newborn-and-child-health-discovery-and-tools

For more on the work of our guest, Vanessa Ridaura: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=M4O5lw8AAAAJ&hl=en

Learn more about our host, Jen Hatmaker: https://jenhatmaker.com

Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi, Hiwote Getaneh, Julia Natt, and our sound designer Kristin Mueller. Our Executive Producer is Eric Nuzum and the host is Jen Hatmaker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.