This week, Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical correspondent for ABC News, hosted a tweet Chat with the goal in mind of shedding light on the important global issue of death during pregnancy and to honor the role that women play in communities across the globe, according to ABC News.
Approximately 800 women die each day from preventable pregnancy-related and causes and childbirth around the world, an alarming statistic that has prompted mom advocacy groups like Every Mom Counts and Save the Children to make efforts to make a difference. The groups, along with experts from the Mayo Clinic, were among participants who took part in Dr. Besser's Tweet Chat.
Save the Children recently released a study that found that sub-Saharan Africa is the toughest place to be a mom, with 1 in 39 pregnancy-related deaths occuring in this region, and 99 percent of pregnancy and childbirth deaths overall occurring in developing countries.
In comparison, there are annually 1 in 3,800 pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths in the United States, which has the highest death rate for newborns among industrialized nations.
White Ribbon Alliance tweeted during the chat:
