The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project
Did you know…that the United States ranks behind at least 30 other nations in maternal mortality rates according to the World Health Organization. In 2003, the United States reported 12.1 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, up from 7.5 per 100,000 in 1982.
Did you know…that black women in the United States have 4 times the risk of dying from childbirth or childbirth related complications. Hispanic women in the United States, similarly, are 1.6 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to die from pregnancy-related causes.
Did you know…that the Centers for Disease Control estimated in 1998 that the US maternal death rate is actually 1.3 to three times that reported in vital statistics records because of underreporting of such deaths.
Did you know…that reporting of maternal deaths in the United States is done via an honor system. There are no statutes providing for penalties for misreporting or failing to report maternal deaths.
Did you know…that the Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than half of the reported maternal deaths in the United States could have been prevented by early diagnosis and treatment.
The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project is a national effort developed to draw public attention to the current maternal death rates, as well as to the gross underreporting of maternal deaths in the United States, and to honor those women who have died of pregnancy-related causes since 1982.
The Project is the vision of Ina May Gaskin, midwifery pioneer and author of Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and the classic Spiritual Midwifery, who has been instrumental in bringing this issue to the public light.
The Quilt Project’s sponsor is the Safe Motherhood Initiatives, USA, an organization founded to improve maternal mortality rates in the United States.
The Quilt
The quilt is made up of individually designed squares; each one devoted to a woman in the U.S. who has died of pregnancy-related causes since 1982. One quilt square is designed and dedicated to each mother’s memory and may mention the date and place of death and the name of the woman. The Safe Motherhood Quilt is the voice for women who can no longer speak for themselves.
To be honored and remembered on The Safe Motherhood Quilt:
The woman died as a result of a complication of pregnancy or birth
The woman’s death occurred since 1982
The woman died within a calendar year after the end of her pregnancy (documented by an obituary, death certificate, relative’s or witness’ account).
Jenny Hatch