The health of mothers

This morning I spoke at a roundtable held to look at the millenium development goals of the United Nations. Taking place on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, this roundtable was designed to get local input on the eight goals set by the United Nations for the new millenium. My task was to talk about the fifth goal - improving maternal health.

While part of the focus of the UN's goal is to reduce maternal mortality in childbirth, improving maternal health involves much more than this. A mother's health has a major impact on the health of her infant - both during development in utero and after birth. The impact of good nutrition and good health during pregnancy on the growing fetus is substantial, and the effects of poor nutrition and poor health during this period can have a major impact which may last a lifetime. It is time to pay more attention to maternal health.

Congratulations to Ashok Athavale, President of the United Nations Association of Canada (Winnipeg), and Margie Friesen, our branch coordinator for organizing this important roundtable. For more information about the UNAC - Winnipeg, visit their web site at
http://home.merlin.mb.ca/~unac

In the photo, I am shown with Ashok Athavale and Margie Friesen at the roundtable.