Stay Tuned: Maternal Health on Primetime Television

Check out how Maternal Health is being featured in a variety of ways on television. BIRTHRIGHTS is a series of 8 half hour films about maternal health around the globe on Al Jazeera. NO WOMAN, NO CRY the documentary produced and directed by Christy Turlington Burns that follows the stories of women in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Guatemala and the United States as they face critical junctures in their pregnancies, will have its television debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network in May. PUSHING THE ELEPHANT, a film that explores the long-term and often hidden effects of war on women and families, particularly those in traditional societies, will be broadcast on PBS Independent Lens through April. Finally, check out the maternal health challenge that is part of the ABC News Initiative Be the Change: Save a Life. Scroll down to find out more...

BIRTHRIGHTS on Al Jazeera

Maternal health is more than just about mothers and babies. Across the globe the very business of delivering life into the world is determined by power, politics and all too frequently, poverty. There may be not enough facilities or too much medical intervention; women might be struggling to deliver their babies healthily or trying to control families through terminating unwanted pregnancies; and the challenges could be rural remoteness or an urban culture dominated by media messages. Whatever the specifics, maternal health and the way women give birth is a global issue that affects us all.

This series of 8 half hour films takes us on a journey around the world, to Ethiopia, Hungary, Vietnam, the USA, Guatemala and elsewhere. We hear wide range of stories from women in vastly different circumstances, exploring their roles as mothers, the challenges they face around birth and labour as well as some of the ways they are trying to change their worlds and improve maternal health in their communities.

To watch videos from the series, find out when the next instalment is playing, and learn more go here.

PUSHING THE ELEPHANT on PBS, Independent Lens

In the late 1990s, Rose Mapendo lost her family and home to the violence that engulfed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She managed to escape with nine of her ten children, and was eventually resettled in Arizona, where she became a prominent voice for reconciliation, as well as an advocate for other newly arrived immigrants. Over a decade later, she and the daughter who was left behind are reunited in the US, where they must learn to reconcile the past and embrace the future. PUSHING THE ELEPHANTis a joyful, hopeful, moving chronicle of the healing power of forgiveness.

PUSHING THE ELEPHANT will be broadcast on Independent Lens on PBS through April.

To see local listings, click here.
To view the trailer for the film, click here.

"NO WOMAN, NO CRY" US Television Broadcast Premiere - May 7th

NO WOMAN, NO CRY a new documentary produced and directed by first-time filmmaker Christy Turlington Burns, will have its television debut on OWN; Oprah Winfrey Network Saturday May 7, at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) the evening before Mother’s Day. The emotionally charged film follows the stories of women in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Guatemala and the United States as they face critical junctures in their pregnancies. The film explores the barriers millions of women face when trying to access critical care throughout their pregnancies and while delivering, along with the often simple solutions that could save their lives.

Turlington Burns, a mother, activist, women’s health advocate and fashion icon, made the film in conjunction with EVERY MOTHER COUNTS (EMC), a five-year outreach campaign she founded in 2010 that is dedicated to improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality around the world by engaging the public, raising awareness and driving action. In support of the EMC campaign, Starbucks will release ‘Every Mother Counts’, a companion CD of music inspired by the theme of motherhood and NO WOMAN, NO CRY. The artists and musicians (who are mothers as well) contributed cover songs and original compositions, several of which were recorded exclusively for this compilation.

Be the Change: Save A Life – An ABC News Initiative

From pregnant mothers to newborns, children and adults, "Be the Change: Save a Life" -- a special-edition of "20/20" anchored by Diane Sawyer -- examined six of the world's top health problems, and shared simple and practical ways the audience can make an immediate difference. While it premiered in December 2010, you can watch the video here. It started a year-long global health initiative with the launch of the website http://saveone.net/.

Part of the initiative involves a Maternal Health Challenge.  

Whether you're an undergraduate, a graduate student or a professional student, they're inviting you to share a short video showcasing your idea, and how you plan to address one of the many causes that lead to high maternal mortality rates or lower quality of life for pregnant and postnatal women. And the challenge is to do it in 5 minutes or less.

Submissions due by: April 29th
To apply and get more information go here.