“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.”- Maya Angelou
Motherhood is one of the most intense, grueling, and encompassing experiences one may go through. As the internet connects us and platforms such as TikTok harbor safe spaces where people online can talk about pretty much anything, the beauty and horrors of motherhood are also shared. As such, nothing is off limits and discussions range from live chats about the side effects of being pregnant to how weird pooping is after giving birth. This is when everything goes right; when mothers are given adequate care. National Safe Motherhood Day serves its purpose to help raise awareness for mothers to ensure that they have adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal services. This is celebrated annually on the 11th of April.
‘It isn’t like childbirth is a new thing, so surely this isn’t that big of an issue?’ is what I thought before researching it further. To my surprise and horror I found that, according to the WHO, around 830 women die every single day due to causes related to childbirth. All of which are preventable. Also keeping in mind that this rate is even higher in developing countries. In order to help reduce these numbers, with the ultimate aim to reduce these casualties to zero, a number of steps must be implemented. Firstly, skilled care must be followed pre, post and during childbirth. Moreover, awareness should be raised on a global scale to ensure that this issue is taken seriously given the gravity of the topic at hand. Next to this, investments into the education of schools, midwifery education, and medics is vital. This should be done through both private and public sectors.
Therefore, the aim of this day is to ensure awareness is adequately raised to push for real change to happen. When working towards this goal we come one step closer to the intentions that form part of the Sustainable Development goals as well as basic human rights.
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