ABC 20/20 Special Tonight to Examine Challenges of Mothers

I know it's Friday night on the last weekend before Christmas. Even if we are not shopping for Christmas, attending a party or baking cookies, the last thing we want to do is watch television.

Helen Gayle, CEO of CARE, gives us a reason to tune in at 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time.  As it turns out, CARE recently joined with ABC News and the United Nations Foundation in the Million Moms Challenge. Together they created a special edition of 20/20 entitled,  "Making Life: A Risky Proposition."

Here's what Helen Gayle says.

"This unique initiative engages millions of Americans with moms in poor countries around the world to connect — and act — on important issues, such as pregnancy, childbirth and children’s health....Diane Sawyer will host an eye-opening report that sheds light on the challenges mothers face in developing countries. ABC talked to some of the women and girls CARE works with in Afghanistan, where we employ low-cost, low-tech solutions that can help save millions of lives."

ABC offers more details about the program in a summary online.

"The numbers are staggering: Every 90 seconds, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth – that’s about 1,000 women a day. Yet experts say that more than 80% of these deaths are totally preventable if only the mothers-to-be received proper medical care. At the bottom of the list… countries like Afghanistan, with its child brides, and Sierra Leone, which has one of the highest fertility rates in the world. The U.S. ranks surprisingly low in the industrialized world — number 41 on the maternal mortality list. It’s an issue that experts all over the world say is “unforgiveable” because even the most basic medicine and intervention could prevent the majority of these deaths."  Read the full summary

So if you happen to be at home tonight, it might be worth turning on your television and watching.