[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H5376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MOTHER'S DAY 2009

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 
upcoming celebration of Mother's Day this weekend, Sunday, May 10. 
Mother's Day is a joyous occasion. And one of the reasons that Mother's 
Day is just such a celebration is that we all recognize the important 
role that mothers play not only in the lives of their biological 
children, but in the life of the entire community. It has been astutely 
observed that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
  However, for too many women in our world, the journey to motherhood, 
pregnancy and childbirth is a death sentence rather than a reason for 
celebration. For every woman who dies, another 20 survive but must 
suffer from the illnesses or injuries incurred during pregnancy or 
childbirth. Maternal mortality is the highest health inequity on the 
planet Earth, with more than 99 percent of deaths in pregnancy and 
childbirth occurring in the developing world. And we don't really have 
to look that far to find those inequities right here in our own 
hemisphere. Haiti has the highest maternal mortality rate in the 
Western Hemisphere.
  Women in the world's least developed countries are 300 times more 
likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications 
than women in the developed world. And this is a tragedy that is 
compounded by the fact that these maternal deaths are preventable. When 
a woman dies after giving birth, the mortality rate for the now 
motherless newborns can be as high as 90 percent in poor countries.
  Fortunately, there are known interventions, proven interventions that 
can be implemented to reduce maternal mortality. However, we need to 
invest more in the programs to fund these interventions. By one 
estimate, the U.S. would need to increase its investment in global 
maternal health efforts up to $1.3 billion a year in order to help 
achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing global maternal 
mortality by three-quarters by 2015. And out of eight Millennium 
Development Goals--eight--the goal to reduce maternal deaths has had 
the least progress being made on it.
  Additional funds would help increase access to prenatal care, 
neonatal care and postpartum periods. It would provide up to 4 million 
health professionals who are needed in developing countries. Six of the 
seven countries with the highest levels of maternal mortality have less 
than one doctor for every 10,000 people. The severe shortage of health 
care workers and the poor quality of care must be addressed to achieve 
reductions in maternal mortality.
  This week, President Obama unveiled a new global health initiative 
that will call for increased U.S. investment in global health programs. 
And I am thrilled that one of the identified goals for this new 
initiative is to reduce the mortality of mothers and children under 5 
to save millions of lives. As a mother, I know that being a mother is 
one of the greatest joys and blessings ever enjoyed on this planet.
  Again, I wish all of you, all my colleagues and their constituents, a 
happy Mother's Day. And I would hope that we would spend a moment 
thinking about all the mothers-to-be, a half-million women a year in 
the world, who never, ever, ever enjoy motherhood because they die in 
pregnancy needlessly.

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