Making A Global Impact on Maternal Mortality: Obgyn Interview with Melinda French Gates

The rates of maternal and neonatal death have been dropping around the world since 2000. That's great news - but since 2016, rates of maternal deaths have remained stagnant. We have to do better. I interviewed Melinda French Gates at the 2023 Goalkeepers conference, which focuses on neonatal and maternal health. Goalkeepers is an organization that keeps tabs on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015 (links below), and this year's report & conference is all about maternal and neonatal health. Watch my previous video for a full breakdown of the data and what we can do to make an impact.
#Goalkeepers2030 #GoalkeepersPartner #maternalmortality
Watch next:
We need to talk about maternal mortality: • We need to talk about ...
References:
Goalkeepers 2023 Report: www.gatesfoundation.org/goalk...
United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals: sdgs.un.org/goals
Postpartum hemorrhage bundle research: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...
Treating sepsis with azithromycin research: www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJM...
Maternal mortality in the United States: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama...
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** The information in this video is intended to serve as educational information and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/advanced practice provider. **
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[@toxicginger9936]

I went through a PPH just 10 days ago. It is terrifying. I am so greatful for the medical team that flew into action to save me. Thank you so much for calling attention to this.

[@infpdreams]

I'm so glad you're okay!

[@carolehirsch7315]

You poor thing! I hope your recovery is going well and please take it easy and let your body heal. Love and light sent your way.

[@ladycaticorn2950]

So glad you're okay, friend. I hope you're recovering well.

[@blueblack3591]

Happy you recovered

[@yascabot4711]

As a Mum who had a postpartum haemorrhage and required two blood transfusions, it was fascinating to hear the statistics and how serious it was. At the time, I was not in the right mindset after 16 hours of labour, blood loss and general trauma from the experience overall experience to comprehend the situation.

[@Hillary429]

My big take away from her book (The Moment of Lift) was the importance of birth control access and family planning for maternal and child longevity. Something as simple as planning children 3 years apart makes such a huge difference in not only the health but also mental well being of the mother and children.

[@daniellemilligan6307]

YES! I wish this video also touched on this point

[@peachBloom]

Why is the book called The Moment of Lift?

[@Hillary429]

@@peachBloom The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World. Focuses on how lifting women up out of gender inequity benefits us all in so many ways; and the simple solutions that can make a huge impact for women

[@tinkeramma]

My first delivery was fairly straightforward; my second was a dangerous situation for baby. My third had a complication that could have killed me if untreated, retained placenta. I was incredibly fortunate to deliver in circumstances that handled the situation immediately and followed up somewhat aggressively. Sepsis was never an issue because intervention was so quick.

[@meahdahlgren5875]

❤❤❤❤

[@max410bery]

PLEASE look into partners in health! They are building a maternity hospital in Sierra Leone because that location had the worst maternity desk in the world. It is almost fully built 😊

[@paolagrando5079]

I found out about that thanks to the Green brothers, Hank and John. 😊

[@yourfriendlyneighborhoodne6554]

I’m doing my 1st AP Seminar team report on how we can lower the United States’ maternal mortality rate, and that was partially inspired by you, Dr. Jones. Thank you for teaching me more than school ever did.

[@jesskitty4704]

I had to get 2 iron infusions when I was pregnant. I'm glad I had an OBGYN that was thorough and did their jobs so well. I hope that we can get these treatments and life saving procedures to all that need them.

[@dianapalmerbrooks]

I feel very fortunate to have had excellent health insurance for the birth of both of my sons. I had two C-sections, and my youngest son was born via an emergency C-section with perfect timing. My OBGYN told me David was a miracle baby since he was healthy. I feel very fortunate to have access to excellent information on how to take care of myself during the baby-making process. It's so important.

[@Purrsephone19]

You do SUCH important work! Thank you for everything you do to bring awareness to this issue!

[@user-wz1iz5oc6k]

My mother had a PPH after giving birth to me, she lost a lot of blood - she was actually the one who alerted medical staff to it! So yes, its surprisingly easy to miss

[@sachettabomb]

For all the "pro-life" people fighting abortion, this is what pro-life really looks like. She's actually saving lives.

[@KxNOxUTA]

Yes but .... no, because pro-choice is what saves lives. I understand what you are saying but pro-choice is literally live saving so let's not reply on their terminology. They've gone and spoiled it by equating "pro-life" = "pro abuse of people who got non-consensually impregnated OR non-consensually ended up in a situation of them needing medical help for a failed wanted pregnancy" All for the sake of "maybe future ppl, with high chance for exposure to many bad live outcome scenarios, to eventually subject to same future abuse, once they stop being voiceless and eventually voice their own needs and opinions. Such, that don't necessarily align with the values of ppl from pro-choice movement". Aka using that term anywhere near MDJ is almost like an insult to her. But again, I did understand you mean well. :3

[@ushere5791]

lovely lady, lovely interview. i'm thankful you both acknowledged how much work there is to do in this country--we need it. without bodily autonomy, people with uteruses are relegated to livestock--unacceptable.

[@sngray11]

Thank you MDJ for sharing some of your experience at this incredible conference in NYC and this amazing interview. Lessening maternal mortality is such an important issue that needs to be addressed on a local, state, federal, and international level. All women having completely bodily autonomy is also imperative.

[@RustyDust101]

As a cis-male I am obviously not *directly* affected by this, but I believe it is vitally important for even the average non-medical male to understand several of the problems that may occur. This sensitizes us to the problems women face during pregnancy, shortly before, during, and after giving birth, and how we may recognize symptoms as well as potential easy solutions. Not as medical personnel, but as husbands or significant others who try take care of these important people in our lives. Without that knowledge and understanding we may miss critical symptoms and make wrong decisions based on lacking or false information. Even as completely unrelated bystanders we may aid by pointing out certain problems which may be alleviated with inexpensive, simple, proven methods that may result in saving lives. That's a goal to strive for, IMO.

[@m0r614]

I was diagnosed anemic and was given an iron infusion a month before i had my little one. Im glad my midwife was keeping an eye on my iron levels. And my mom had the audacity to ask why i needed it and that they didnt do that when she was having babies over 20 years ago. She told me to ask about how much something is gonna cost beofre i agree to any more of there recommendations. Things could have been really bad if i hadnt of gotten it. Thats why we need to continue to bring awareness to these things.

[@OperationCaitlin]

You are such a natural interviewer! The work by these medical professionals and the foundation will help so many people and save lives.

[@PamelaH_HappyVibes]

Thank you for sharing your interviewing Melinda, she is so giving and charitable. I applaud the way she is using her wealth!

[@sim_aware]

The Gates Foundation does such incredible work on maternal health. Exceptional interview. Thank you!!

[@sim_aware]

Want to play a PPH training serious game on my channel? We built one a few years back when I was at Duke.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

The Gates Foundation does some very good work... and they also launder Gates' money and reputation. He puts money in tax free and then controls how it is spent. Much of it is spent in ways that increase the value of his private investments. That's why Gates is richer now than he was when he started giving away his money. He's made more from philanthropy than he did from computers. For example, he personally invested in Pfizer and Moderna. Moderna wanted to release the patent. He convinced them not to and instead used foundation money to buy and give away vaccines. But the quantities were not nearly high enough to meet the demand in the countries that really just wanted to make it themselves. But by paying a small figure to give away vaccines, he ensured a much bigger profit for Moderna and as a private investor, he got his cut of that while many more people in poor countries died of Covid. So yes, they do good stuff. But that comes with a hell of a lot of bad too.

[@arcticxabyss]

I think one of the many terrifying things that can happen to a woman while she's giving birth is: going from feeling a LOT of different emotions while she's giving birth to her baby to "oh crap, something's not right. I don't feel right. what's happening to me!?".

[@toxicginger9936]

As someone that just did this 10 days ago... it's extremely terrifying.

[@vlmellody51]

I remember when I had my son, and excited was not what I felt. Exhaustion, relief, and worry, yes. Excitement? No. Fortunately, we got through it okay. I lost a lot of blood, but I was treated by a woman OB who back in 1984 was already putting her patients on iron supplements during the last 6 weeks of gestation. I had to remain on iron for a while afterward, which was unpleasant, but in many respects, it probably saved my life.

[@arcticxabyss]

@@vlmellody51 I'm glad you guys were able to get through it okay. it must've been terrifying to go through all of that. yeah and I'm sure you're glad to still be alive today to see and watch your baby grow.

[@vlmellody51]

@@arcticxabyss thanks! 😊 my "baby" is just about to celebrate his 40th birthday.

[@elisharoberts1029]

I was already a worrier and a high risk pregnancy, so I was terrified of the pain of labor, and all the things I knew could go wrong. Then my allergies to iodine and chlorhexedine led my surgical team to come up with an on the fly plan that somehow the on call Dr from my clinic wasn't aware of, and I ended up with a massive infection, because he didn't do an antibiotic soak before closing me up at 5:30 pm on a Friday. My son was born at 5:12 pm. I was too busy puking and begging for info about my son to triple check they were taking care of me. I had to threaten to jump off the table with a spinal before they would even tell me a thing about my son. He cried once and then was silent and momma was panicked. Daddy was with baby and knew he was fine, but was so in awe he couldn't speak. My anesthesiologist was like she's not joking someone better start talking to her. My infection went undetected despite my rapid light switch change from hot to freezing 2 days later. I was discharged despite vehemently opposing it. I came back 20 minutes later via the ER with a fever of 103.5. They claimed my Tylenol masked all my symptoms. I laughed in their faces and called out their BS. My Dr had to do a revision and send me home with a wound vacuum. Due to another miscommunication they left it on too long without a dressing change or a forced shower or dried out completely. They had to max me out on Fentanyl to remove even a quarter of it. It was literal hell on earth. My Dr nearly brought me back to the OR to knock me out so I wouldn't disrupt the whole floor. After he ripped them a new one he assured me he'd be calling to make sure they changed my dressings every 6 hours or that he was personally there to oversee it. I had a 2 day break before contracting cDiff. I could barely eat, stay awake, hold my baby, etc. I lost 70 pounds in 3 weeks. I was in the hospital for 2 full weeks. When I went home it took another 3 weeks to get my appetite back. At that point I could hold my baby for 15 minutes max with furniture support. He was thriving, which was great, but I was missing it all. He was born in October(he'll be 5 next week), and I had an open surgical wound until January. I burned through my entire 12 weeks in maternity leave and hadn't even a week of normality. My Dr pushed for an extra 4 weeks of leave for me, and it was granted, but man, did my boss hate it. To say the whole experience was traumatic is an understatement. It took my long awaited miracle from being a miracle to being my worst fears for my health with a newborn. OMG the PTSD, PPD, and Anxiety were awful. I'm still recovering and thinking about it makes me cry.

[@d_izzy]

I think this video highlights the importance in why trainee doctors need to go to other countries in order to pass medical school (at least this is the case in the UK). Also ideally high level medical care workers should too, ie specialist nurses.

[@stephaniehowe0973]

A good friend had a C Section and had her incision infection. I had a raging bladder infection. My GP blew me off. I traveled 70 miles round trip post C Section because I knew something was wrong & she didn't even test me

[@ThisIsFiftyWithLil]

Such a thrill! Job well done, Doctor.

[@ladyninja3014]

I was so lucky to deliver both my babies and to raise them in safe and supportive environments. You did an amazing job interviewing Melinda!

[@clarkeashley39]

Amazing. Glad you and others are making changes

[@KanuniSuleyman4857]

I lost my aunt 2 years ago due to ICH on the day of birth so I hope that the Gates foundation help people better with their pregnancy!! ❤

[@coyote4237]

Thank you.

[@HEIDIHAPPYtoBeAFlea]

@MamaDoctorJones this must've been so exciting cathartic and a privilege for you and just want to say I'm such a huge fan of yours and bill and Melinda's and I'm so proud of you for always being on the right side of this fight for autonomy freedom inclusivity and LIFE sending all my love and support ❤❤❤

[@leahholland6272]

IV iron would have been so helpful 18 & 20 years ago when I delivered as my iron levels crashed after delivery.

[@heatherwallaert5165]

Honestly, this is one of the reasons I respect you so much. Because it takes very little effort to just state your opinion or read off facts, but instead of just doing that you're going out there and making a difference with your own two hands. That's amazing, you're doing great work. Long time follower, will continue to watch for years to come!

[@TheBeccabus]

Wonderful work ❤❤❤

[@jessicaroseelizabethp.7911]

It is so exciting that these improvements and research are saving and lengthening lives! I feel really grateful that I had been fortunate to deliver in a hospital where I had easily received antibiotics because I had a pretty high fever after giving birth. I feel glad to learn that antibiotics can help post partum mothers around the world!!

[@marty0063]

Wow, I learned so much from such a short video. My husband’s cousin died from infection 3 days after her c-section for twins :( she hemorrhaged really bad and needed 2 blood transfusions. This was in Taiwan. I was wondering if some people were more prone to hemorrhaging, which may be the case if they are low in iron that’s what it sounded like from the video. There was also an antibiotic that might have been able to save her :( she lived in a smaller town, and didn’t go to the big city to give birth like a lot of people do. She had healthy twin girls.

[@lilypotter3794]

This is awesome, and such an important issue to be advocating for.

[@AL-cg4vb]

As a trans man this is an even bigger worry for me, medical staff dont even want to be near you when youre pregnant and trans

[@KxNOxUTA]

I'm terribly sorry this is happening. We have a clinic here with specialised doctors in all trans matters in the birth hospital. So if you had access to specialised staff, this would be easier to handle, even though it really shouldn't be an issue any more 2023. Yet, here we are! If you are still in the process or planning in the future, I hope you can be in the most caring hands possible for it. If this is a matter of the past, then at the very least I hope you are otherwise having a lot of support!!

[@laurissa1790]

I'm curious if part of accessible healthcare for all nations could be getting JADA devices out to stop post-partum hemorrhaging? I learned about those recently and they seem pretty incredible. I wouldn't think they'd be too expensive to manufacture either.

[@kathrynsamuelson1983]

Have you heard about the vlogbrothers raising funds to build a maternal health hospital in Sierra Leone?

[@missnaomi613]

Keep up the good work, Mama Doctor Jones!

[@KxNOxUTA]

Aww you're excited and adorable! Thank you for being out there and watching out for people who give birth to kids!

[@agness6766]

I forgot how MDJ is small😂 And yeah, important topic with amazing ladies!

[@LeafHuntress]

Or Melinda is really a giant? ;-)

[@Rainbowofthefallen]

Just commenting for the algorithm ❤️

[@lindaarmstrongjackman9788]

That is wonderful. Thanks for sharing this. ❤️😊👍

[@MiladyInks]

I LOVE your outfit, Mama Doctor Jones! ❤️

[@marieh442]

This was very interesting. I have a question about mesuring blood loss to diagnose a postpartum hemorrhage. I've heard weighting the blood soaked mats used where she gave birth, can be used to indicate the blood loss. But wouldn't these have a lot of amniotic fluid in them as well?

[@d_izzy]

It depends. According to my SO I had a nurse as part of the trauma team attending me who stood and counted. So it sounds like it is a measurement over time to length of materials being soaked. He can remember her reeling off numbers and hitting 2000ml.

[@marieh442]

@@d_izzy Wow..that sounds intense. Was this a scary experience for you? Did you get blood and/or iron infusions after?

[@d_izzy]

@@marieh442 yes I did I was lucky enough to make it to hospital and had three blood transfusions. It was a perinatal (during birth) arterial haemorrhage. I can remember bits and pieces. Mainly being very cold and shaky.

[@marieh442]

@@d_izzy Ah, so it happened after you left the hospital! I imagen that must have been traumatic for both you and your SO. I'm sorry you had that experience.

[@d_izzy]

@@marieh442 no, it was in hospital as I was giving birth rather than postnatal haemorrhage which is most common. LO's head was covered in blood as they were born.

[@mgg_30]

You’re fantastic😭❤️

[@dianapalmerbrooks]

I'm the oldest of 8 kids, and my mother had my youngest sister at home. She is lucky to be alive!

[@spicybrown75]

Me too. My oldest siblings and myself born at home.

[@dianapalmerbrooks]

@@spicybrown75 my father was a pharmacist who owned a drug store in an Amish community. Most Amish give birth at home.

[@girliestmammy]

💖

[@daniellemilligan6307]

This is horrible and so sad but also so scary that 800 women die a day and the population is still sky rocket at the pace it is, i wish they touched on the need and importance of birth control in these countries, less pregnancies means less risk and more finaces/resources for the kids they do have

[@t.sincerely270]

Hi, 14 wks 🤰🏽 with a dairy digesting issue. Is it safe to take dairy digest pills with enzymes protease, lactase, and lipase? I started bc I hear it’s normally safe and my ob gyn hasn’t responded to me so I just wanna be sure. Thanks if u respond !❤❤

[@nancypatricio9972]

As an expert, what would you consider a good time/age to get pregnant, and at what age you will consider it risky?

[@KxNOxUTA]

The rule is that as soon as you are an adult, biologically speaking "the earlier, the better" is very very real. Complications risks increase with age. But practically speaking, going for this before you are financially and practically able, is also a very important factor. Aka noone can give you an age this easily, because "the best time" will depend on individual circumstances. But if you are asking about only the biological component, then "the earlier the better" applies. And I guess starting 35+ things are more likely to get difficult AND that also doesn't mean it wouldn't still go well and without complications for many individuals.

[@sashakononova8968]

@@KxNOxUTA yeah but what's an adult biologically speaking? Clearly not 16 even if that's when you finish puberty because then there's still a lot of medical risks...

[@hemlockwaterdropwortchanne3896]

go off mama Jones! it's so great you got to meet Malinda Gates and advocate for saving mothers lives in the process

[@ElsaLoui]

800 a day is shocking!!!!

[@Nan-59]

I’m thrilled that you got invited, MDJ!❤

[@archeewaters]

almost lost a friend to that...

[@becauselesliesays]

😊🫶

[@jaskiratsingh7750]

The selfie with Bill Gates was the best one !!!! ❤❤

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

A friend of mine was fed grapes by hand from Bill Gates at a party. She was about 20, an intern at Microsoft. He was in his late 40s I think (whatever age he was a little over 20 years ago). She found it pretty creepy. But he was the billionaire running an internship that was poised to make her a lot of money. And she was very young and naive and we were about 15 years too early for MeToo. So she let him do it.

[@jaskiratsingh7750]

@@Sam_on_KZbinlol that's a bit crazy but at the same time a very good opportunity 😜

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@jaskiratsingh7750 I mean... the internship and job were a good opportunity. She made a bunch of money and then got the hell out of that toxic envirnoment to become an event planner with mad programming skills. But the harassment... that is not something that is justified by providing a good opportunity. And it isn't something to LOL about. She is FAR from the only one with such stories and some of the others are FAR worse. As these things go, what my friend experienced was thankfully pretty mild. Something that would get HR to talk to you (if you didn't own the company) but not get you fired, sued, or arrested. Not everyone can say the same.

[@jaskiratsingh7750]

@@Sam_on_KZbin yeah I agree.... but I also think that in a party when everyone is just hanging out and fooling about, such things are quite common don't you think so???.... So LOL does come to play when partying around turns a bit freaky that's what I mean... I do hope you get that too... but I'm also happy she got a better job now...

[@midorishiwa]

I think there’s something written on your hand 😂

[@MamaDoctorJones]

Notes 😆

[@KxNOxUTA]

@@MamaDoctorJones Good job! Having notes means you're doing a fantastic prep job and knowing what works for you! Very very proud to be part of your YT community and getting to learn so much from and with you!

[@LifeAsItIs478752]

Question about surrogate mother definition. Please 🙏🏼 Sorry you probably won’t see this but I cannot find a clear enough definition online. There seems to be a lot of confusion in the comments whether this woman counts as a surrogate mother even though she is keeping the baby. They’re insisting because the baby is not biologically hers (egg donation from her partner) she is a surrogate. But all the definitions I can find online seem to say surrogate is just when you intend to give up custody to someone else, no matter biologic relation. Also just seems interesting I’ve never seen this argument towards straight women that received an egg donation. Only with sapphic couples.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

I don't think you were wrong for going there with a purpose in mind that was worth achieving. I was just at ALEC a few days ago, surrounded by MUCH worse people. But like I didn't while at ALEC, please don't forget who these people are and why they do what they do. Your purpose for being there is noble and altruistic and these people do sometimes do good work. But they are not being altruistic like you are, whether that is the effect or not of any particular thing they do. Paying people like you is a tactic called greenwashing. (It may not be a check, but a trip to New York and the VIP treatment at the event is often used the same way.) It helps hide legitimate criticism. Notice how Bill Gates has been giving away his fortune for 20 years and he's richer than ever? That's because of how he uses his foundation to evade taxes and increase the value of his investments at the same time. During Covid, 4 things happened at once. First, he provided free vaccines in relatively small numbers. Second, he was attacked by crazy conspiracy theorists. Third, he paid just about every science KZbinr there is to promote his book and talk about the good he was doing with the vaccine. And forth, the part rarely discussed, he used his influence and money to convince Moderna not to release their patent like the had planned and profited from his investment in the vaccines while the poor countries to whom he gave way too few doses begged for the rights to make it themselves and he lobbied hard to prevent it and ensure many more people died than were necessary from Covid. So sure, take the money to promote things that will help people. That's fine. But if you feel pressure not to talk about the downsides, whether anyone actually tells you or they are relying on your good will to create that pressure, just remember that the good work is just so they can have an easier time profiting from being monsters.

[@TrueBeauty2974]

Meh

[@Lisboooa]

Oh hell no! Unfollowing

[@belleSally]

I guess this is a propaganda channel now?

[@KxNOxUTA]

Since when is talking about how to prevent deaths considered "propaganda"? :'D Are you OK? You know, I'm not into the Gates family etc. either, but in reality the presence of questionable people doesn't terminate the validity of a topic/cause, just as the occasional presence of good individuals will not excuse or "purify" any bad cause. You'll be very troubled in society if you cannot approach things with perspective (opposed to one-dimensionally) and if you're busier "burning bridges" than you are "building bridges".

[@jencendiary]

@@KxNOxUTA The QAnon Turds are out, I suppose.