Christy Turlington Burns just ran the Tokyo Marathon and she did it for women all over the world who don’t have access to adequate maternal healthcare.
The supermodel and her team raised over $13,000 for Every Mother Counts. It’s an organisation Christy started nearly 8 years ago aimed at making pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women – an issue close to her heart.
In 2003, when she gave birth to her daughter Grace, Christy suffered some postpartum complications and almost bled to death. But she had a team of medical professionals by her side and was horrified to later learn, thousands of women in her situation were dying every day.
Right now, one woman dies every two minutes from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. That’s 303 thousand deaths per year. And with the right education, facilities and training, 98% of those deaths are preventable.
“Over the years as I’ve watched my daughter grow,” Christy explains in her documentary No Woman No Cry, “I’ve continued to be haunted by these shocking facts, and compelled to do something about them.”
To date, Every Mother Counts has raised over $13 million and has carried out life-saving projects in 13 countries. From providing obstetric care supplies in the Democratic Republic of Congo to training midwives in Syria and providing basic services like solar electricity to clinics in Malawi and Nepal, Christy’s organisation is working to remove the barriers to better maternal health.
This isn’t the first time Christy’s taken part in a marathon to raise money for her organisation. She’s been running since 2011 and has been part of the New York City, London, Chicago, Boston and Berlin Marathons too.
If you’d like to support Every Mother Counts, you can do so HERE.
