President Obama has made maternal health one of the core priorities of U.S. international aid funding.

I'm a mom. I'm from Ethiopia. I gave birth in the U.S. and had all the proper care available to me. If I had given birth in Ethiopia - I don't know if I might have even survived it.

The most inspiring piece of advice I've gotten is simply to persevere. My mom taught me to always keep going no matter what from an early age. When it feels too difficult to push forward, I always remind myself, 'This too shall pass,' and then I redouble my efforts.

We should work to guarantee that there is a midwife or health worker by every woman's side during childbirth.

We can't end poverty if we fail to save the lives of our world's mothers.

When a woman has her first child in places like Africa, they're really young. They can be 12, 13,14, so their frames are really small, and they're usually malnourished.

Prenatal care is one of the most effective ways to reduce maternal mortality because it identifies complications or high risks before emergency situations.