Share Your Lucky on Mothers Day: Moms4Moms

Moms4Moms

This is a serious post.  I’m not going to self mock or try to make you laugh.  If I make you cry, I’m sorry.  But this is serious business.

I got pregnant easily.   Let’s just say, I could have ‘done it’ three times and ended up with the same three children I have now.  I’m very lucky.  I had easy births with no complications.  Even though I had to be induced with my second two children, they both flew out in less than two hours.  I am lucky.  I had a lump in my breast when I was pregnant with my second child.  I called my doctor and was able to see a specialist within a week.  It was a fluid cyst.  Not only am I lucky that’s all it was, I’m lucky I was able to see a doctor so quickly.  When I didn’t want anymore children, I was able to access birth control and a surgical procedure for my husband.  I could control my body-when and if I conceived.  I am lucky. 

As a woman and mother living in Canada, I am lucky.  I had good, if not excellent medical care before, during, and after my pregnancies.  Likely if you’re reading this post, so did you.  However, many women do not.  Here are just a few statistics, just related to childbirth. There are many, many more disturbing facts related to access to care, need for midwives, transportation, and sanitation.

• Globally, 100 women die each day from pregnancy and birth related complications.  Even in the United States, two women per day do not survive what should be an extraordinarily happy experience.
• Reproductive health problems are the leading cause of death worldwide among women in their childbearing years, and 90% of those deaths are preventable.
• Pregnancy is the leading cause of mortality amongst young women 15-19  worldwide (I have a daughter in that age group)
• Annually 10 million women suffer from post-delivery complications and infections.
• 200 million women worldwide who wish to control when they get pregnant do not have access to education and preventative measures.

How do these other women celebrate Mother’s Day?  Do they get flowers, candy, Coach purses?  Probably not.  What would they be happy with?  Diapers, breastfeeding education, a midwife to help them through their birth?  Birth Control so they can choose when and if they conceive a child?

How much do Americans spend on Mother’s Day each year?  What do you think?  $10 million?  $15 million?  How about $14.6 billion?  That’s right. Do we need all those gifts? We have our health, our kids, our clean homes, and food on the table.  We have access to medical care both for ourselves and our children.  How can we SHARE our LUCKY?

Holly Pavlika at Have Mome-Entum  asked herself the same thing, ” Studies show Moms like causes. Moms like to do good in the world and it’s triggered by childbirth as they start to look at the kind of world they would like their child to live in. And then I thought about all the need in the world from abused women shelters, books, education and more.”

She also asked herself “What if someone could take just 10% of that $14.6 B and give it www.everymothercounts.org, the charity created by Christy Turlington after her own home birth didn’t go as planned?  What kind of amazing impact would that make on so many lives?”

That was the genesis of #moms4moms.  This is the time where the power of social media moms can be harnessed to make a huge impact on the lives of others.

So, this is what I’m thinking.  I want to share my LUCKY. How will I do that?   I’m going to ask my kids for a hug and some breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day.  And then, together, we’re going to send some LUCKY to those who need it more.  Here are two ways that we can make our own small difference:

• a small donation through EveryMotherCounts and Save the Children

• your old cell phones donated through Hope Phones. (They supply everything and pay the costs of shipping.)

Are you game to share your LUCKY?

Posted by chickymara on April 27, 2011

https://beniceorleavedotcom.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/share-your-lucky-on-mothers-day-moms4moms/