No Woman, No Cry

The Marley family generously granted me use of “No Woman, No Cry” for the title of the documentary film I directed and produced in 2010 as well as permission for Martha Wainwright to cover the legendary Bob Marley tune for the end credits of the film. This version was also featured on our first Every Mother Counts Starbucks CD compilation in 2011. We got together that same year with Donna Mastropasqua, the executive director of 1Love.org, to find out how we could work together to further our missions and she told us about a company called Lyric Culture that makes stylish clothing with lyrics on the product. They offered to share the proceeds of a Lyric Culture T-shirt and scarf with Every Mother Counts. Together we agreed that the lyrics to “Get Up, Stand Up” were the perfect call to action for maternal health and we started promoting them in May around Mother's Day. The lyrics are printed on the inside of the t-shirts and were handwritten by both Cedella Marley and Christy. But this Lyric Culture project grew into much more. Cedella Marley eventually went into the studio to record the song and it is featured on Every Mother Counts 2012 Starbucks CD.

For those of you who do not have your calendars marked and gifts or cards purchased, a reminder: Sunday is Mother's Day, a "holiday" that many Americans have the luxury and good fortune to be able to observe. This year, the National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend around $18.6 billion on gifts for this one day -- even though most of us go through the motions of celebrating without having any idea about the day's original intent.

Model, maternal health advocate and supermom Christy Turlington Burns was in Chicago, Ill., this week for a film screening of her documentary "No Woman, No Cry" at the Gene Siskel Film Center, ABC News reports. The film -- which first premiered in March 2010 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City -- is Turlington Burns' directorial debut. In it, she shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including Bangladesh and the United States.

Eight years ago, I suffered a life-threatening complication after delivering my daughter. I was fortunate to have access to health care providers who managed the situation. The experience set me on a path to ensure that geography alone no longer determines whether or not childbirth is deadly for women and infants.