Mother Stories
Maternal deaths are not completely avoidable. Even in the safest countries, every 100,000 births or so will still see a death.
Knowing these losses will always be with us, we plan to make the Mothers Monument into a living memorial. It is not just a static monument, but also incorporates an interactive component where families who have lost a loved one are able to create accounts on our website and upload photos and stories about their loved one to share with the world. We have already heard from several individuals that this aspect of the monument has helped them to heal by letting others get to know this beloved individual in some meaningful way. This grief, that they could only bear privately in the past, can now move into the public and be shared with all of us. We are also gathering stories from families around the world about the conditions, challenges and successes they have experienced with maternal health.
If you have a story that you would like to contribute, we would like to visit with you. Some of these stories may be painful, others joyful. Each story is important for us to engage with and understand. For the contributor, we hope that sharing your story will help you heal. For those reading the stories, we hope they will help you connect with the lives of these women and understand in a more intimate way the impact they have in their communities.