Saving Mothers

Women Deliver is an advocacy group that attempts to bring attention to the issue of women’s health and well-being around the globe. This week, from May 28-30, they’re hosting their 3rd Global Conference in Kuala Lumpur. Maternal health is a huge focus for the group, which is one of the reasons we wanted to share some information about this Conference here on the Saving Mothers blog.

Please take a minute to check out Women Deliver’s website- there’s all kinds of terrific information about the conference (speakers, participants, side events) as well as information about how the organization has worked to raise awareness for women’s health all around the world. This organization has really done an incredible job of reaching out and facilitating the partnerships that are necessary to improve global conditions for women and moving the dialogue forward.

We’ll be tweeting/Facebooking about some of the topics to come out of this conference over the next few days, so keep checking in!

Greetings friends!

Our Saving Mothers Lifestyle Modification Program kicked off a new series of events at Mount Sinai’s Prenatal Clinic entitled Small Changes that Make a Big Difference. Many patients of this clinic population have an above-average body mass index (BMI) and are at risk for developing medical complications during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and pre-eclampsia. To combat this issue, Saving Mothers volunteers mentor these pregnant women, specifically obese patients, on how lifestyle changes can help them achieve a healthy target weight.

At our most recent event, we provided nutrition information and samples of the healthier options offered at local fast food restaurants. Based on socioeconomic factors and their busy lives, we understand that many clinic patients can’t avoid dining at McDonalds, Subway, and Dunkin’ Donuts. But we hope with a little education and modification, our patients can make the big changes they need to live healthier lives for themselves and their children.

On May 4th, Saving Mothers hosted a charity ride @ Soul Cycle’s NOHO studio. Instructor Jolie Walsh lead our Saving Mothers cyclists as more than 60 riders spun to support mothers and women around the world. Her inspirational words and energizing music enabled for this 45 minute cardio party to touch everyone both physically and mentally, which was evident by both the sweat and smiles of our riders.

We’d like to thank our sponsors Lululemon, Neuro drinks, InStyle magazine, Zico coconut water, and Calvin Klein fragrances who donated products for our event’s gift bags. Special thanks go out to Jolie Walsh (instructor), Bianna Golodryga (for helping coordinate), Soul Cycle, our riders and everyone who supported our event for making it a huge success. We raised a total of $8400 and everyone had tons of fun doing it! Huge thanks for everyone who made this an awesome event!

Still want to donate? Click here and you can still our event today!

View more photos of the event by clicking here.

Left to right: Samantha (Saving Mothers’ Community Programs Director & coordinator of this event), Bianna Golodryga (helped coordinate the event), Jolie Walsh (instructor)

Happy riders who spun to save mothers!

Our riders each got a gift bag thanks to our sponsors:  Lululemon (headband), Neuro drinks, InStyle magazine, Zico coconut water, and Calvin Klein fragrances. 

Saving Mothers’ Team (left to right): Valerie Gruhn, Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, Jes Oliveira

Have you heard of Impatient Optimists? It’s an offshoot of the Gates Foundation that features the work of the foundation’s partners regarding health, alleviation of poverty, and other important social issues. It’s a pretty cool site and this week it featured a discussion of the Global Newborn Health Conference that recently took place in South Africa. It’s terrific to see organizations like the Gates Foundation, USAID, UNICEF and the WHO working together to raise awareness of newborn health in the developing world. Take a minute to check out Impatient Optimists and learn a bit more about the work that’s being done to educate the public about improving newborn health!

Image via Impatient Optimists

Mommybites Summit is a unique and fun night-out for New York moms and moms-to-be to come together and mingle at the beautiful New Yorker Hotel where they can shop, schmooze, enjoy free gifts, and hear a guest speakers (including Martha Stewart, Oprah, and GTV guest Andrew Mellen).

Saving Mothers will be there at our very own table, manned by some of our team members, spreading awareness of our surgical missions, selling exclusive SM merchandise for donations, promoting our upcoming SoulCycle Ride for Charity (May 4th) and Mothers Day campaign (through May 12).

Not an event to be missed!!  All info can be found here:

https://mommybites.com/newyork/mommybites-summit/

See you on May 1st, NY Mamas!

Check out this guest blog on balancing medicine and motherhood by our very own Medical Programs Director, Dr. Taraneh Shirazian

http://poopsiecollective.com/post/48181003598/saving-mothers

Calling all New Yorkers: Tomorrow, Tuesday April 16th, stop off at the Pinkberry in Gramercy (350 3rd Ave btwn 25th & 26th), have yourself a tasty snack, and watch 20% of the proceeds go to Saving Mothers! Just show them this attached photo and YOU CAN HELP US SAVE LIVES!

From Dr. Erin Gertz, Saving Mothers Global Health Fellow:

“I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the D.R. 2 weeks ahead of the surgical team in order to see and screen patients in the rural areas where ILAC works.  Side-by-side with the Cooperadores, we were able to see 297 patients with gynecologic issues in that short time!  Each community welcomed me with open arms and made me as if I was one of their own.

ILAC works with 142 “Cooperadores” - the rural healthcare volunteers chosen by their own community to provide basic healthcare outreach and referral.  The Cooperadores also accompany patients from their community to ILAC on the day of surgery, room overnight with the patients, and travel back home with them, while keeping a watchful eye for any sign of post-operative complications.”

From March 30th to April 5th, our Saving Mothers surgical team descended on Santiago, DR to screen, treat, and educate 137 different patients. During our week of surgeries, our team performed 42 separate life-saving and completely FREE gynecological procedures on 35 different women, many of whom had never seen a doctor before in their lives.

We worked closely with local health care professionals, showing them new techniques, sharing ideas, and continuing to strengthen the relationship Saving Mothers has built with the Santiago community.

We did our work in the clinic at the Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC) Center,  housed at “La Mision” located 7.5 kilometers outside Santiago. Located in the second largest city of the Dominican Republic, the ILAC Center provides numerous opportunities for students and health care professionals to grow personally, professionally and spiritually through service to others. We had two operating rooms going simultaneously, plus several exam rooms and a fully-functioning PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit), which allowed us to treat many women at different stages all at the same time.

We were able to perform more difficult surgeries than on past missions, due to some amazing equipment donated by generous people around the world.  Our standouts were our new headlamp, which allowed for MUCH better visibility, and our crown jewel, the cystoscope and monitor provided by STORZ, which we used to provide dozens of cystoscopies for the first time.

We had a wonderful time meeting so many amazing people and doing meaningful, life-saving work.  The full team in attendance was:

Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, Ob/Gyn, Saving Mothers Medical Programs Director; Dr. Erin Gertz, Ob/Gyn SM Global Fellow; Dr. Mamta Mamik, UroGyn; Dr. Salma Rahimi, UroGyn Fellow; Dr. Laura Desrosiers, UroGyn Fellow; Dr. Irene Osborn, Anesthesia; Dr. Andrew Perez, Anesthesia; Dr. Carrie Hamby, Anesthesia Resident; Ingrid Garnes, Registered Nurse; Valerie Davis, Registered Nurse; Samantha Smith, Registered Nurse; Estrelania Williams, Medical Student; Jonah Platt, PR Coordinator

We can’t wait for the chance to go back to the DR to continue working with the amazing people of the Santiago community.  Please take a moment to donate now — every single dollar helps us afford to bring health care to women around the globe, and we literally can’t do it without you!

At the end of March, Saving Mothers is returning to the Dominican Republic to continue working with ILAC (Institute for Latin American Concern) with support from the Platt Foundation. 

By working with “cooperadores,” locally trained community health workers, through the ILAC Cooperadores de Salud Education Program Health Outreach Initiative, we will continue to gather health information and screen thousands of people in hard-to-reach rural villages where there is no formal medical care.

In August 2012, the Saving Mothers team trained over 160 cooperadores to screen for prolapse, incontinence, and abnormal pap smears. In October 2012, we returned to perform surgical repairs and to teach local health care providers fundamental skills.

Overall, 119 patients were evaluated and 40 received life-changing surgeries, such as sling procedures and vaginal hysterectomies. Later this month, our cohort of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses will return to perform an even larger number of procedures. Stay tuned to hear updates!

Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

At Kuper Academy High School in Montreal, Quebec on the 28th of February the Saving Mothers Kuper Academy Student Chapter held its very first fundraiser! 

Following several raising awareness events including a school assembly, an information session and a sign-up meeting for all those interested, we gathered about 15 students and formed the Saving Mothers Kuper Academy Student Chapter. As a group, we raised awareness of worldwide maternal health issues through videos and informative posters that we placed around the school.

For the fundraiser, students and teachers made $1 bets on the birth date and gender of the baby of one of our French teachers, Mme. Florence Dusausoy.  After the baby’s birth, prizes will be given to those who made the five most accurate guesses. 

The group raised $175 US and is excited about being part of the effort to reduce maternal deaths worldwide.

Saving Mothers Kuper Academy Student Chapter:

Nilufar Mokhtarian, President
Dylan Masson, Vice-President
Mr. Luigi Discepola, Teacher and supporting member
Mme. Florence Dusausoy, Teacher and supporting member
Angad Malhotra
Harman Malhi
Namarta Malhi
Mariam Aldulaimy
Olivia Ruscito
Vanessa De Muy
Walid Rankoussi
Harjas Mann
Alexander Bevacqua
Caleb Chang
Saleha Lamrani
Terrence Serpone
Sadhvi Mehta

Here I go with my lovely friend, Concepcion, and a health educator from PRODESCA. We went on home prenatal and post-partum visits in the rural “aldea,” Tzanchaj. All the women I visited had homebirths with comadronas. The young lady and baby you see here shared my first homebirth experience with me. I was called by Juana, a comadrona, and asked to accompany her to a birth. I quickly packed my “birth bag” and ran out the door. 3 hours later, I am watching her give birth to her first child. The delivery went well and baby was great. I repaired mom’s lacerations with a headlamp and my humble supplies. I visited her 2 weeks later and both were happy and healthy. - Jessica Oliveira, Guatemala Coordinator

This is San Juanerita Clinic in San JUan , La Laguna. Saving Mothers is helping the clinic start a prenatal care program. The woman in the pictures is an auxillary nurse and a comadrona (Mayan birth attendant). Saving Mothers helped Lesbia get her job at the clinic last year as a diabetic health educator and now I have been training her to be the women’s health care provider in this small clinic. Most women here in San Juan deliver at home with their comadronas and rarely get any proper prenatal care. - Jessica Oliveira, Guatemala Coordinator

Home birth #2 in Xechivoy. Mom and baby are doing great! - Jessica Oliveira, Guatemala Coordinator

Juana is the comadrona (mayan midwife). I am following while here for 3 months is Guatemala. I’ve been here for a month now and learning a lot about the opportunities for women and the healthcare system. - Jessica Oliveira, Guatemala Coordinator