Ten Easy Ways to Make Every Mother Matter

This Mother's Day, Honor a Special Mother in Your Life by Supporting Safe Pregnancy and Childbirth for Women Everywhere

ATLANTA, May 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This Mother's Day, honor your mother and mothers around the world by showing you care about making pregnancy and childbirth safer for women everywhere.

Recent research suggests a significant drop in the number of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth globally since 1980. And while this news is encouraging, with one woman dying nearly every minute of every day as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth, more must be done to put an end to these senseless deaths. Below is a list of ten easy things you can do to promote maternal health around the globe:

10.  Learn about how women around the world can have safer pregnancies and births. Read about the inspiring work of CARE's Advocate for Maternal Health, Christy Turlington Burns, on her web site: www.everymothercounts.org.

9. Spread the word that every mother matters. Tweet or post a message on Facebook about maternal health. Let your friends know that we don't have to wait for a medical breakthrough to save women's lives.

8. Honor a mother by including her on CARE's Wall of Mothers. Post a picture and send a personalized e-card to your mom, friends and other powerful women you know. Stand in solidarity with mothers around the world and spread the word about CARE's work to save the lives of mothers everywhere. Go to www.wallofmothers.org.

7. Reach out to a mother in Africa with an easy and dynamic web site. Go to www.joinmyvillage.com to connect with women in a village in Malawi, Africa. Take a quiz or tell a friend and unlock $1 for women. Even better, make a donation and have it matched dollar-for-dollar by the sponsor, General Mills.

6.  Ask President Obama to urge global leaders to take action to help mothers and children everywhere. Visit www.momsrule.org to take action.

5. Join the Mothers Day Every Day campaign. The campaign's goal is a bold but achievable 75 percent reduction in maternal deaths by 2015. Learn more at www.mothersdayeveryday.org.

4. Urge your U.S. Representative to support comprehensive maternal health legislation when it is introduced next week to help save the lives of women and children around the world. Send an email to your Member of Congress by going to: www.care.org/health.

3.  Support organizations that make maternal health a priority. With more than 50 years of experience and success developing and implementing maternal and child health programs, CARE is in a unique position to improve maternal and newborn health at the local, national and global levels. CARE works directly with women and communities, empowering them with services and information while affecting policies to ensure that safe pregnancy and birth are a basic human right. Visit www.care.org to learn more.

2. Know that even a little goes a long way. $10 can provide food for a 3-day stay at a maternal waiting home for a mother from a rural community. Many hospitals in developing countries don't provide food for patients, so women are less likely to go to a hospital to give birth. Go to www.care.org to donate.

1. Share what you learn with others. When women learn that one woman dies nearly every minute of every day as a result of complications from pregnancy or childbirth, they want to take action. Make a pledge to speak with five women about the status of maternal health around the world and help ignite a wave of awareness and action that will ultimately save the lives of women and newborns everywhere.

About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve education, health and economic opportunity.

SOURCE CARE