Linking Maternal and Child Health and Poverty

What do maternal and child health care have to do with poverty?

As it turns out, quite a bit.

Most maternal and newborn deaths can be prevented by quality health care and access to medications.

Maybe you were born in a country that has high-quality medical support for expecting mothers. Your mother (or you, if you’ve had a baby!) likely received prenatal care, newborn and post-natal check-ups, essential medications and access to medical equipment, and other supportive resources during the pre- and post-partum experience.

However, for many women all around the world, the experience is very different. Low-income countries have much higher maternal mortality rates (430 deaths per 100,000 live births) than high-income countries (13 deaths per 100,000 live births). Poverty-related challenges that create this inequity include lack of quality health care facilities, expensive prenatal care, poor sanitation, and the psychological stress of poverty. 

That’s why our investment in maternal and child health projects is so critical to our mission of poverty alleviation.

One Day’s Wages partners with grassroots organizations to improve health outcomes in underserved communities across the globe, including:

• Rural India, where we partner with Pro Rural to offer transportation for expecting mothers to reach health clinics to safely deliver their babies; 
• Sierra Leone, where our partner, Rural Health Care Initiative, provides newborn home visits, immunizations, and financial support for children requiring hospitalization;
• Haiti, where expecting mothers receive weekly check-ups, delivery care, postpartum classes, and nutrition coaching at Heartline Haiti’s maternity center; and 
• Afghanistan, where our partnership with Action for Development supports professional development so midwives are better equipped to address pregnancy complications.

Whether it’s transportation assistance, access to qualified medical professionals, education, or medication, ODW partner organizations know the unique needs in their communities.

One Day’s Wages comes alongside our partners so they can continue to serve their communities with confidence and care.

Will you join us in supporting maternal and child health as we work towards our mission of alleviating extreme poverty?

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Ellie White is a Seattle-based journalist and serves as ODW’s Community Outreach and Communications Volunteer.