The number of maternal deaths is significantly understated because of a lack of effective data collection both in the US and around the world.

Statistically, the United States rates number 39 in maternal mortality. This means that it is safer to be pregnant and to give birth in 38 other countries than the USA... and less expensive too.

I became a fierce advocate for gentle birth as a solution for the most pressing problems of our times - a solution that begins at the source.

I am just one of many many thousands of midwives, who are devoted to saving lives gently.

My first experience of having a baby was about as natural as birth can be, and though I didn't know it at the time, it set my feet on a path that eventually led me to become a childbirth author and a midwife.

I get crazy upset when I feel mothers or babies are not getting the loving care they need.

After disasters, reproductive healthcare falls by the wayside. Yet babies continue to be born. When all infrastructure falls apart, when the hospitals and all their technological equipment are destroyed, midwives come in handy. They can help women give birth with or without electricity, running water, equipment - even shelter is optional. When babies are ready, they come.