On Friday, Feministing posted this great video from UNICEF on the effects of high rates of maternal mortality around the world. I think it does a great job of showing how interconnected the issues of maternal mortality, child survival, hunger, family planning, education, development, etc.(the list is endless) are.



The thing I think it is missing is a look at how much this is specifically a young person's issue. Let's look at the facts.

1. Complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death in young women ages 15-24 worldwide.
2. Young Women ages 15 through 19 are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or child birth as those over age 20; girls under age 15 are five times more likely to die.
3. Complications from unsafe abortion are included with complications from pregnancy in maternal mortality statistics: Each year, at least two million young women in low and middle income countries undergo unsafe abortion.
4. Because of cultural factors such as gender inequity, early marriage, lack of educational opportunities, etc. young women are likely to have less access to family planning services and education that older women. This makes young women even more vulnerable to death from pregnancy.

If you, like me, are reading Amplify from your cushy room on a US college campus, these stats can seem pretty divorced from reality. So think of it like this:

Imagine you are a young woman, maybe 18, maybe 21, pregnant and already widowed. You have one other child, and had a miscarriage right after you were married at 14. You do not have formal education, and spend 5 hours a day getting clean water for you family. There is a HIV/AIDS clinic 2 hours away, but you have never been there and they do not have many services beyond HIV testing, treatment and counseling anyway. You have no prenatal care, but this pregnancy has been a rough one.

Or imagine you are this young woman's child, or her younger sister whom she also cares for, or her neighbor who she often helps with his cattle, etc...

Maternal Mortality Rate is not a term that is always easy to connect to, but high rates are an unfortunate reality in many areas of the world.