It is estimated that approximately 500,000 women die each year during childbirth in developing countries. Many of these deaths are due to unsanitary conditions and are therefore preventable deaths. Midwives struggle to maintain a clean environment to allow the mother to deliver her child in a safe and sanitary environment. Everyday supplies can mean the difference between a healthy mother and baby or a fetal or maternal death or both.
With this in mind, the Zonta Club of Pittsburgh has assembled over 7,000 birthing kits over the past 4 years and sent the kits to a hospital in Kenya. Each kit contains a clear plastic sheet, 4 pieces of gauze, soap, 3 cord ties, a razor and a pair of gloves. The supplies fit in a plastic baggie. For the past three years, members of the Zonta Club of Pittsburgh have teamed with Alcoa during their October Month of Caring to assemble Birthing Kits. Approximately 2,500 kits have been assembled with support from Alcoa.
Learn More
Pittsburgh club aids Kenyan mothers-to-be who lack supplies – November 15, 2015
Support for Haiti – Global Links Facebook Timeline, April 6, 2012
Local birthing kits to aid Kenyan Women – Post Gazette, January 13, 2008
