Model Christy Tulington Burns started a non-profit to promote pre-natal and maternal health globally. “I founded Every Mother Counts in 2010 after completing my first documentary film, “No Woman, No Cry” about a subject I have become passionate about since I became a mom in 2003,” Christy writes on the organization's website. Although she always had a global outlook on life – due to her traveling parents and international family – Turlington didn't turn to advocacy until after her own experience giving birth. She writes: ... after a perfect pregnancy and a delivery that went just as I had envisioned it would go, I experienced a complication that while frightening and totally unexpected, was managed efficiently by my midwife and the obstetrician who backed her. In the months that followed the birth of my daughter, I began to consider what this complication could mean for women without access to pre and postnatal care and what I learned was it can, and often does, mean death for thousands of girls and women around the world. In fact, Post Partum Hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the world, including in the US.” When she learned that 90% of maternal deaths sue to PPH are preventable, she decided to do something about it. After traveling with CARE, the international non-governmental organization, Christy decided to make a documentary film about maternal death due to this post partum complication, preventative programs and pro-active maternal health. The film received great acclaim, and at every screening people asked what they could do to ensure maternal health and prevent needless deaths. That's when Christy formed her own organization, Every Mother Counts, to turn awareness into action and create linkages between like-minded organizations, resources and individuals to change the current reality for mothers. Partnering with other organizations, companies, schools and governments, Every Mother Counts educates the public about preventing maternal death, helps bring critical resources to countries, and facilitates the creation of public health campaigns to decrease maternal death in childbirth. Every Mother Counts continues to fulfill its mission of ending preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth around the world. Source: http://www.everymothercounts.org/author/christy-turlington-burns