If it weren’t for a whole host of amazing medical professionals, neither I nor my babies would probably have survived my pregnancies. I was preeclamptic with each of my two pregnancies and had my doctors not known what to look out for or been lax in monitoring me, I might have had a very different outcome. I needed care before, during and after labor. Because I received such a high standard of care, I was even able to avoid having c-sections or any more medical interventions during labor than those that were totally necessary.
The statistics are staggering–Every year across the world 287,000 women die in pregnancy and childbirth. Another 7-10 million women and girls suffer severe or long lasting illnesses caused by complications in pregnancy and childbirth. The numbers multiply exponentially for women in developing countries.