Maternal Health Task Force
The Maternal Health Task Force strives to create a strong, well-informed and collaborative community of individuals focused on ending preventable maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Blog
-
Perspectives on Monitoring Progress Toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality: Highlights from CUGH 2017
Earlier this month, global health experts (and students aspiring to be experts) from around the world gathered for a series of presentations, panels and posters at the 2017 Consortium of Universities for Global Health Conference in Washington, D.C. The panel titled “Perspectives on Monitoring Progress Toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality: What Measures Matter?” provided an opportunity to discuss the monitoring framework developed to accompany the Strategies toward ending preventable maternal mortality (EPMM) report released in 2015…read more
-
Wilson Center Event | Too Much Too Soon: Addressing Over-Intervention in Maternity Care
We are excited to announce the upcoming dialogue, “Too Much Too Soon: Addressing Over-Intervention in Maternity Care.” The event will take place at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. (and online!) on Monday, 24 April 2017 from 11:00am – 1:00pm. This dialogue is part of the Maternal Health Task Force’s Advancing Dialogue on Maternal Health Series, in partnership with UNFPA and the Wilson Center…read more
-
Using Improvement Science to Address Maternal Mortality in the United States
Unlike in most countries around the world, the maternal mortality rate in the United States has risen over the last decade. To address this problem, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) partnered with key stakeholders to host “Eradicating Avoidable Maternal Mortality with Improvement Science,” an event held in conjunction with the IHI National Forum…read more
-
Respectful Maternity Care: A Basic Human Right
Respectful maternity care is not only a crucial component of quality of care; it is a human right. In 2014, WHO released a statement calling for the prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during childbirth, stating that “every woman has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including the right to dignified, respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth.”…read more
-
Recognizing Child Marriage as a Maternal and Women’s Health Issue
Fatimatah was forced into marriage by her family at the age of 16 and suffered severe physical, financial, educational and emotional consequences. Unfortunately, Fatimatah’s story is not hers alone: Globally, about one in ten girls marries before age 15, and about one in three marries before age 18. Early marriage puts young girls at risk of developing numerous negative maternal and reproductive health outcomes…read more
-
World Health Day 2017: New Jobs in Global Maternal Newborn Health
On World Health Day (and every day), the Maternal Health Task Force would like to thank all who work to improve maternal newborn health worldwide. In this month’s job roundup, we are featuring positions at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, CARE, Save the Children and more!…read more
-
The Burden of Infertility in Nigeria: Raising Visibility to Promote Equitable Access to Care
In low-resource settings such as Nigeria, accessing basic assisted reproductive technology treatments can be challenging or impossible for many couples who want to conceive. There is a need to raise the visibility of infertility within the maternal health care field. People in Nigeria, other low-resource settings and all over the world deserve equitable access to infertility care…read more
-
Respecting Choice in Childbirth: Preferred Delivery Positions Among Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam
For Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, their cultural preferences and traditions surrounding childbirth are often portrayed as obstacles to the uptake of maternal health services. One cultural preference that is viewed as a barrier to receiving maternal health care is the use of traditional birthing positions. Providing high quality care requires evidence-based policies that respect the cultural practices, preferences and needs of ethnic minorities…read more
-
ICHC 2017: Five Key Takeaways for Maternal Health
The Maternal Health Task Force was thrilled to participate in the 2017 Institutionalizing Community Health Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 27 March – 30 March. Read 5 key takeaways for maternal health…read more
-
For India, Achieving the Next Generation of Maternal Health Goals Requires New Approaches
Last month, nearly 50 researchers, practitioners and advocates from across India, and a few from beyond its borders, gathered to discuss strategies for improving maternal health at the new Mumbai outpost of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as part of a two-day workshop organized by the Wilson Center and Maternal Health Task Force…read more