Safeguarding Women So Their Babies Can Stay Healthy, Too

When a woman in America is pregnant, she has multitudes of resources available to her. Rows of books at libraries, countless blog posts and magazine articles about the best way to prepare for labor and raise a child, many options for how and where she will deliver her baby, dozens of options for prenatal vitamins and various supplements to boost her health and help her baby develop.

But that’s not the case for many women in Asia.

Many have never been told some of the things we consider basic pregnancy information here, such as taking vitamins, resting extra and decreasing the weight of any loads they carry.

I’m six months pregnant, and I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard “Are you taking it easy?” or “Are you sure you shouldn’t be resting right now?” or “Here, let me carry that for you,” or “Are you taking your prenatal vitamins?”

I’ve thought often of the story Gospel for Asia shared about a mother in Asia who lost her baby because she never learned what pregnancy care should include. It’s tragic to consider the lives that are lost each year because of inadequate care and/or lack of education for pregnant women and their babies in parts of Asia.

This woman learned valuable health care information through Gospel for Asia-supported medical ministry, which protected her next pregnancy from miscarriage and enables her to care for her son every day.

However, on the flip side, how exciting it is to think about the lives being saved through simple education programs and initiatives!

Gospel for Asia partners with national workers to safeguard the health of individuals, families and communities in several ways: medical camps, health seminars, mosquito net distributions, clean water initiatives and more. There are so many aspects of life that impact our health. But during these months of my pregnancy, GFA-supported medical ministry to women—especially to expecting mothers—has become even more relatable and exciting to me.


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