After a complication following the birth of her first child, the model is the founder and CEO of Every Mother Counts Christy Turlington Burns started investigating maternal health care around the world.
Christy was compelled to direct and produce the documentary, No Woman, No Cry about maternal health challenges that impact the lives of millions of girls and women. She shared her story and what inspired her to help woman around the world.
About 303,000 women die each year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these deaths happen in developing countries, but Burns learned two women die each day in the U.S. from such complications.
The numbers startled her enough to take action. In 2010, Burns launched Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all mothers. Now Burns meets with women around the world to hear their stories and health-care challenges.
Burns talked about her travels around the world as well as diving into the nonprofit world after a successful modeling career during a keynote address in uptown Charlotte this week. She offered advice and encouragement to other women entrepreneurs in the audience.
What role does obesity play in pregnancy complications?
More than half of pregnant women in the U.S. are obese, which leads to complications like hypertension, gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, causing difficulty during a woman's prenatal and post-partum period. Often when a mother is obese, her child will also be above the average weight and have to be delivered by c-section. That procedure can be much more challenging and adds additional risk to mother and baby's health and well-being.
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