Over the Mother’s Day weekend, the Oprah Winfrey Network brought us “No Woman No Cry,” a new documentary about women and what they face to have children all over the world.  Christy Turlington Burns and her husband, Ed Burns, bring us stories from all over the globe – from Tanzania to the slums of Bangladesh to Guatemala to the US and more – to help shed light on what it’s like to be a pregnant woman around the world and what that journey looks like.

While the state of health care in the US should make us ashamed on most days, we get to see that health care conditions for many women in the world are decades behind and the front line health care workers are truly angels to these women in need.  In one clinic in Tanzania, there were 4 beds.  No doctor.  Just women – nurses perhaps – doing their best to help the people in need, in this case the women who are pregnant.  “For girls ages 15 to 19, pregnancy is the leading cause of death in the world,” Christy tells us.  Another fact – one doctor to every 2.5 million people.  Think about this number…and what it takes from this one doctor…and what that mean to be one of the 2.5 million.  It’s both staggering and awe inspiring that one person has the will to take on this task.    This is just one story of child birth…but each will touch your heart and your soul in different ways.

As the film strives to give a voice to pregnancy for women in these countries and what they face, Christy Turlington Burns brings to us the fundamental lesson – that every woman counts.  “I was inspired to make a documentary film that would share the stories of women at risk of becoming a mortality statistic,” Christy explains. “I hope that by bringing people together through the universal experience of birth, we can help create a mainstream maternal health movement that ensures the lives and well-being of mothers worldwide, for generations to come.”

We are all human beings with an infinite capability to love.  As women, we have a unity about us…that bonds us and transcends where we live and our economic situation.  As women, the nurturing piece of our soul understands that it is easier to help others that to help ourselves.  Through watching, “No Woman No Cry” it’s clear that women’s voices need to be louder…and for those that cannot speak, those of us that can need to use our own.  If not for ourselves, then speak up for our daughters or our sisters or for those that have no one to help them.  Watch the documentary online or on OWN and pass along this story. Help change the world for all women…for every child…one story at a time…pass it along.  Being aware is the first step…and this is a change that is going to take baby steps…

So here are a couple of baby steps to get you started:

• WATCH the film, talk about it and pass it along.  This is the first step in using your voice to make a difference.
• Visit Christy Turlington’s non-profit – www.everymothercounts.org to learn how you can make an even bigger difference and have a louder voice.