Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese – Co-founder of Save The Mothers is an internationally respected leader in the field of maternal health, and has been appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of her commitment to saving the lives of women and babies in the developing world. An obstetrician and director of the International Women’s Health Program at McMaster University, she has dedicated her life to making pregnancy and childbirth safer in the developing world.
Below are some notes from her presentation and links to two videos she wished members to see.
Steps to Deliver Change for Mothers - Saving the lives of mothers and newborns in East Africa
Dr. Chamberlain introduced her presentation by showing the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yLzt054A2g
The context for her talk is illustrated in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-rhtXZfddU
287,000 mothers die every year from pregnancy complications - equivalent to 800 mothers per day.
6,000 mothers die in Uganda every year from pregnancy complications = 2 mini vans of mothers crashing and dying every day! These are preventable deaths. There are 3 delays that kill mothers: Home, Transportation and Health Care Facilities. At least 50% of deaths can be attributed to the first 2 delays.
Vision of Save the Mothers:
“No mother or her child should die from pregnancy complications”. But to make the vision of safe motherhood to be a reality, we need to be intentional. We deal with the ROOT causes of why mothers are dying: using a multi-disciplinary approach.
Save the Mothers is equipping a network of dedicated professional LEADERS …within strategic contexts and professions ...to address all 3 delays and to reduce the number of mothers/babies dying within their own country
…over 450 East African professionals have joined the program.
There are 6 Strategic Spheres of Influence
Law and Politics; Media; Education; Community Mobilization; Health; Faith Communities.
Save the Mothers Main Campus is located at the Uganda Christian University where they offer a Masters Level Program in Public Health Leadership (MPHL). In addition to the intentional leadership training, there is a need for discipline in the health facilities – to make them attractive and safe for mothers and their babies. The Mother Baby Friendly Hospital initiative was birthed in response to this need – a local referral government hospital with no running water in labour room for over 5 years! STM students and graduates work with local hospitals to improve quality of care (e.g. standard setting, equipment needed for mothers/babies).