thank you mum: mother’s day initiative raises awareness for maternal health

This Mother’s Day, raise awareness as well as a smile by sending an e-card through not-for-profit group Marie Stopes International Australia. The healthcare organisation has launched the Thank You Mum initiative, which aims to raise awareness of maternal and newborn health issues in the Asia Pacific Region.

By heading to the Thank You Mum website and sending a free electronic mother’s day card, Australians can recognise the important role mothers play in society, while remembering that for women in developing countries, pregnancy and childbirth can be life threatening.

Maries Stopes International, in conjunction with AusAID, provides sexual and reproductive health care to the women, men and children of Australia and the Asia Pacific. As part of the Marie Stopes International Global Partnership, the organisation helps provide these services to almost 7 million people worldwide.

According to the Thank You Mum website, one woman dies every two minutes from complications in childbirth or pregnancy in the developing world. The campaign hopes to challenge this by raising awareness of the work of Marie Stopes International.

Amongst other things, the organisation aims to provide adequate means of contraception to women and men in the developing world, so pregnancy can occur by choice rather than chance. The main causes of death during pregnancy and childbirth are haemorrhage, infection, unsafe abortion, eclampsia and obstructed labour – all preventable or treatable issues, provided skilled obstetric care is available.

The Thank You Mum campaign can help spread the word on the need for greater obstetric care in the developing world. By sending a card to a mum you love, and sharing it via social media, you can raise awareness of the issues facing some of the world’s most vulnerable women.