Project Update: The Safe Motherhood Quilt

Tonight is the Full Moon in Aquarius, a time to manifest awakening and compassion, and to examine the relationship between individual expression and service to humanity. I felt tonight would be the perfect occasion to revisit The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project, and to honor a mother that lost her life in childbirth.

Pamela Jean Young Lippert died from an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) just hours after giving birth to her son Vaughn (Cameron), who is alive and healthy today. Ina May Gaskin, founder of the quilt project, noticed a sharp increase in the number of women dying with this diagnosis; moreover, a majority of these women (like Pamela) were induced with Cytotec, also known as misoprostol. Cytotec is a drug that has never been approved by the FDA for labor induction and causes the uterus to hyperstimulate like no other medicine. Furthermore, unlike Cervadil, it cannot be removed once it is administered.

Ina May wanted to create a special quilt to bring awareness to the far too many women who have died of amniotic fluid embolism. Pamela already has a square on the larger Safe Motherhood Quilt, which is how I came to know her story. The square, lovingly created by her sister Lauren, was on the panel I was honored to quilt last year. I communicated with Pamela's family and they gave me their blessing to create a new square for the special quilt.

I received many loving details about this beautiful woman, younger than I am, who was obviously in great health and full of love for life and the world around her. But one line in an email from her mother caught my attention:

"I remember how she loved trees, and how, if she saw a huge tree standing in a field by itself, she would marvel at its creation and at how strong it must be to stand alone."

I gathered the fabric that spoke to me and began to create a strong and mighty tree, alone, with Pam in contemplation. (The fabric I used for the trunk is the same fabric that binds the panel of the Safe Motherhood Quilt with Pam's original square in it.)

As I was working on this piece, little b was digging around in my notions and found two little oval mirrors, and tossed them in my direction. One of them landed right in the center of the tree. This moment of contemplation instantly became a portal between Pamela's birth experience and the strength and solitude she so admired.

After placing the pieces on the 12" x 16" square with fusible webbing, I gave each a decorative stitch treatment to reinforce and embellish the details of the square. For Pamela's silhouette, I used a free motion foot; it may not be perfect, but I think its fluidity represents the moment in a nice way.

Pam was only 26 years old when she transcended this world. The real tragedy here is that her death quite likely could have been prevented. If you would like to join Ina May and me and many others in the fight for healthier childbirth, there are many ways to help. If you would like to create a quilt square for a woman who has died of amniotic fluid embolism, please visit this list and find a woman (who doesn't already have a quilter assigned) that resonates with you. Please comment here or email me with your contact information and I will fill you in on specifications, etc. These stories need to be told.

Sneak Peek: The Color Walk Calendar!

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm now taking pre-orders for the 2010 Snip and Snail Color Walk Calendar!

Inspired by our year of color walking, these custom-printed beauties will have inspirational quotes and ideas for kid-made fun each month of the year. Pre-ordering for the holidays is available now! There is a PayPal button on the sidebar, or you may email me for more information. The total price is $25, including shipping and tax, and a portion of all proceeds will benefit The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. I hope you will enjoy these walks with your family as I have with mine!

Project Update: The Safe Motherhood Quilt

I have been working on the quilting of one panel of the Safe Motherhood Quilt Project for several weeks now, and am honored and proud to have hung it in the atrium of our public library this morning, along with two others mailed to me by Ina May Gaskin in preparation for her visit and presentation of the project.

For the backing, I pieced a graph of the rise in maternal mortality rates from 1982-2007, during which time the rates doubled and are now almost five times higher than the U.S. Healthy People 2010 goal. Inside the binding is tucked a length of the red yarn that has bound the New Moon Sisters for so long, welcoming these mothers into the sacred space we created, and offering them peace and reverence. The two other panels (on either side of the blue one) were professionally quilted and are absolutely gorgeous. Papa, The Visionary and I hung the panels carefully. When we stepped downstairs to examine our work, we were amazed that each panel was perfectly on center and even color-coordinated with the space below. This was not intentional. I am looking forward to meeting Ina May Gaskin so much. Her body of work and her vision for this project are so profound. I am beyond honored to be a part of this, and hope that a glimpse of these squares will touch a few hearts, as they have deeply touched mine, so that we might all move toward healthier maternity care and a healthier community of families.Thank you to Rose and The Girl, who just so beautifully happened to be at the library this morning, for entertaining little b while we hung these quilts!

Project Update: The Safe Motherhood Quilt

My dear friend Erin made this quilt square for The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project and dropped it off at my house yesterday morning. On that cool, blue, first day of fall, the juxtaposition of these colors and prints touched me immediately and I felt like I missed someone I had never known. This is all the information I could find on Rosario Bermeo:

Rosario Bermeo, age 30, died following an abortion at Prospect Hospital in New York on June 14, 1983. Dr. Joseph B. Shapse contended he had no responsibility for actions of the certified nurse anesthetist, and no responsibility to monitor and evaluate Rosario's condition during and immediately after the abortion. Therefore, he said, he was not to blame for her death from respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Thank you, Erin, for creating this beautiful tribute. Erin also has a new etsy site called Willoughby Jade where her handmade knits, gorgeous henna work and appliqued clothing are available.

Safe Motherhood Quilt Update: Three Squares

Within the past week, I have received three squares for the Safe Motherhood Quilt project. Two of these squares are for the quilt panels already underway, and the third is for the special quilt devoted to women who died of Amniotic Fluid Embolism. I am privileged to share with you these compassionate, thoughtful, and beautifully crafted tributes to three mothers.

JUDY TRUNNELL

Judy Trunnell died on Tuesday May 5, 2009, in the first death associated with swine flu in the United States. Trunnell died after being hospitalized for two weeks. She slipped into a coma, and her baby, a healthy girl, was delivered by Cesarean section. Trunnell was a 33-year-old schoolteacher in the Mercedes Independent School District, about 15 miles west of her hometown of Harlingen near the U.S.-Mexico border. Health officials stopped short of saying that swine flu caused the woman's death, saying she had "chronic underlying health conditions" but wouldn't give any more details.

This quilt square was lovingly made by mother and crafter Sara Dronkers of Eureka, California. She blogged about her experience creating it here.

GWYNETH VIVES

On December 21, 2001, Gwyneth Vives, 36, gave birth to a son. Her nurses at Los Alamos Medical Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico, reported that she and her baby were bonding well. Three hours later Gwyneth Vives was dead. The autopsy report put the cause to exsanguination following amniotic fluid embolism. Vives' labor was induced with Pitocin. She suffered a serious cervical laceration during delivery.

This quilt square was creatively made by Marcy Tracy, Labor and Postpartum Doula and seamstress in Avon, Colorado. It will be part of the Amniotic Fluid Embolism quilt.

SUSAN SIMPSON

Susan Ryan Finch Simpson, 30, a physical therapist, died unexpectedly Friday, May 22, 2009, at Mary Rutan Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, after giving birth to a healthy baby girl. Susan contracted bacterial meningitis after a routine anesthetic epidural. Her obituary reads, "a loving mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter and aunt, she had an exuberant smile, loving eyes and was full of energy." She is survived by her husband, James Nathaniel Simpson, and their two daughters, Lilian Ryan Simpson, 14 months, and Olivia Sue Simpson, born May 21, 2009.

Diane Aquino Perez, a former student of Susan Goodrich, created this thoughtful tribute to Simpson: a springtime kite flying in the night sky.If you would like to create a special square for a mother who has died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes in America, please contact me or post a comment here.

Project Update: Safe Motherhood Quilt

Last night was the Full Moon in Capricorn. According to astrologist Lisa Dale Miller, this Full Moon exemplifies perseverance, as Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) is "the great teacher of how to handle hardship, struggle and reality, with commitment, follow-through and guts." No one could personify this spirit better than Maddy Oden.

Maddy Oden is the mother of Tatia Malika Oden French. In December 2001, Tatia entered a well-known and well-respected hospital to deliver her first child. She was 32 years old, in perfect health, and looking forward to a natural, unassisted childbirth. There were no problems during the pregnancy. According to her doctor's calculations, she was a little under 2 weeks overdue. She was given the drug Cytotec to induce her labor. Cytotec, also known as Misoprostol, is a drug manufactured to treat ulcers. It is NOT approved by the FDA, or the drug company, to induce labor. Ten hours after being administered Cytotec, Tatia suffered hyper-stimulation of her uterus, an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) was released, and an emergency C-Section was performed because the baby was also in distress. Both Tatia and her baby, Zorah Allie Mae French, died in the operating room.
Maddy channeled her unbelievable grief into years of hard work, and in 2003, The Tatia Oden French Memorial Foundation, a non-profit corporation, was formed to give women of childbearing age complete information concerning medical interventions and drugs which are administered during childbirth.

I spoke with Maddy for almost an hour last week. It was not the first time, as we have served on a committee together to further efforts for informed consent in maternity care; but it was the first time we had spoken about Tatia. I felt the love in her voice, the pain in her silences. I asked if there were any elements she'd like included in a square to honor her daughter (hers will be one of twenty in a special quilt for mothers who've died from amniotic fluid embolism). Maddy simply requested African-inspired fabrics, and that baby Zorah be recognized as well. So last night, with a full moon at my back and an altar to the divine feminine gently lighting my workspace, I laid out my fabrics and allowed them to take shape.This photograph is the only one I could find of Tatia pregnant with Zorah. Her quiet, graceful contemplation of their shared future is so beautiful, it needed to be captured. There are only a few African inspired prints in my collection, and I let them guide me. The yellowish background was leftover from the African batik project we did at Big B's preschool. I also had one piece of white gauze left from the prayer flag project, which I used to mimic the dress Tatia is wearing in the photo. I used only fusible webbing to piece this square; not a stitch was sewn. I like the raw edges. They speak to the unfinished business that Tatia and Zorah left behind, which is now Maddy's life's work.

I have also chosen and begun piecing the fabrics for the back of the Safe Motherhood Quilt panel that I will be quilting. I am so pleased with this palette and am honored to take this on. There are still several names on the AFE quilt, as well as the Safe Motherhood Quilt, that need to be honored. If you would like to create a special square for a mother who has died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes in America, please contact me or post a comment here.

Safe Motherhood Quilt: Quilting Gallery Guest Post

I am honored to have been featured as a guest blogger on today's Quilting Gallery blog, discussing The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. Please visit the Gallery and read more about the project and how you can get involved.

I have followed the Gallery's blog since beginning my own, and am hopeful that their wide readership will draw attention--and volunteers--to this important and amazing effort.

Project Update: Safe Motherhood Quilt

The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project is well underway. Several names have been assigned to the quilters who have lovingly volunteered to participate in this important project. Thank you.

In watching these squares come together and cataloging how each mother died, Ina May Gaskin noticed a very large number of women who suffered from Amniotic Fluid Embolism. Moreover, a majority of these women were induced with Cytotec, or another form of artificial oxytocin. Cytotec is a drug that was never approved by the FDA for this purpose.

Ina May would like us to create a quilt honoring these women specifically. Many of the names on this list already have squares in the larger Safe Motherhood Quilt Project; this one will be devoted just to AFE deaths. I am beyond honored to create a second square for Tatia Malika Oden French, whose mother I have worked with on a committee to try and increase awareness about patients' rights to informed consent and refusal.

Each of these women has a story. Please read it. If you would like to create a square in honor of one of them, please email me or post a comment on this thread. Together we can begin to raise visual awareness that women are dying unnecessarily, right here in our American hospitals.

1. Janet Spiess
Age 26
Died in Aurora, Illinois
September 16, 1985

2. Denise Puckett - Quilter: Denise Lange
Age 37
Died October 1, 1998
Dallas, Georgia

3. Sofia Rangel - Quilter: Rose
Age 18
Died February 27, 1985
El Paso, Texas

4. Jennifer Lynn Knutson
Age 36
Died April 3, 1998
Orange, California

5. Margaret O'Connor
Died January 28, 1997
Portland, Oregon

6. Gwyneth Vives - Quilter: Marcy Tracy
Age 36
Died December 21, 2001
Santa Fe, New Mexico

7. Darlene Morton - Quilter: Marianne Ogg
Age 32
Died March 9, 1998
New Haven, Connecticut

8. Tatia Malika Oden French - Quilter: Kangaroo
Age 32
Died December 28, 2001
Oakland, California Baby Zorah died with her.

9. Lindsay Michelle King - Quilter: Mell Fraze
Age 18
Died May 6, 2000
Columbia, South Carolina Her baby died with her.

10. Jill Heiman
Age 41
Died December 31, 1991
Eugene, Oregon

11. Suzette McGinnis-Gorman - Quilter: Danielle Damen
Age 37
Died August 28, 2003
Santa Cruz, California

12. Lynne Saiter
Age 30
Died December 14, 1999
Walton, New York

13. Diana Benefield Mateo
Age 40
Died January 18, 2004
Murphy, North Carolina

14. Shannon Stevens
Age 25
Died March 11, 2004
Waco, Texas

15. Bethany K. Joyal
Age 22
Died July 7, 2005
Rochester, New Hampshire

16. Aria Rae Ruggles
Age 24
Died July 26, 2007
Voorhees, New Jersey

17. Randi Madnick
Age 34
Died June 17, 2007
Boynton Beach, Florida

18. Wendy Lee Bassett - Quilter: Marianne Ogg
Age 42
Died April 28, 2008
Rockville, Maryland

19. Pamela Jean Young Lippert - Quilter: Kangaroo
Age 26
Died July 18, 2007
Rocky Mount, Virginia

20. Susan Goodrich - Quilter: Danielle Damen
Age 46
January 11, 2008
Marquette, Michigan

Project Update: The Safe Motherhood Quilt

I received in the mail today the first square from a growing list of quilters who have found The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project through my blog. Marianne Ogg is a young mother who has been quilting for 20 years, and it shows, through her craftsmanship and perfect piecing. Thank you, Marianne, for becoming involved in this project. I have added your name to a sidebar that I hope will continue to grow as we help Ina May Gaskin bring awareness to American maternal mortality.

The mother Marianne honored in her beautiful quilt square was Kerry Martin, 34, the wife of Arizona State Treasurer Dean Martin. Two days after her death on May 25, 2009, Kerry's infant son Austin died in Dean's arms. Marianne chose the background fabric for the square because it reminded her of water, and Kerry was involved in promoting youth swimming programs.

Note: I understand that these posts might be uncomfortable to read, and that they do not interject the same brightness that I shoot for with other posts. But the forum that this blog provides to connect me with the quilting world is unmatched, and I care so much about this project, that I feel it is appropriate to take advantage of their intersection. To learn more about American maternal mortality, please visit The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project.

Project Update: The Safe Motherhood Quilt

The events of the day held a myriad of emotions for me. A sick little b and a soaked cell phone greeted me when I woke, sending me a clear message to slow things down a bit. I listened. I held little b all morning long, in the sling he hasn't requested in months. We read books, we played, we nursed. We went to pick up Big B from school, full of gratitude for these moments in our day. The three of us continued the slow pace, enjoying simply coexisting the afternoon away. I was grateful to be a mother, and grateful to be with my children.

And then the mail came. I never thought I'd see this return address in my mailbox:...this is a home on The Farm, the home of Ina May Gaskin, the home of one of the true heroes of my life. The package contained a quilt top with eighteen squares from her Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. When I took the neatly folded 15'x3' panel from the envelope, this was the square on top. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Jennifer Wollheim was a midwife in Gainesville, Florida. When she died giving birth to baby Lila, the midwifery community rallied, helping her husband Neal with their new baby in whatever way they could. This included donations of pumped breastmilk for Lila. My dear friend was able to give to Lila in this way, finding the strength within her own tragedy to provide much-needed help for a suffering family.

These are just a few other squares on the quilt panel I received, each commemorating a mother who has died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes in the U.S. since 1982.Now I will select a backing and finish and bind the quilt, and return it to The Farm to join several others already completed. Papa and I laid out the panel in the driveway, and within moments our neighbors walked over, curious. I could watch Ina May's intention at work as a bit of visual realization crept onto the faces of our friends. I'm thankful that things were slowed this morning, and proud that we all felt happy just to be in each other's presence. I was reminded today of the importance of each moment, in a very real way.

The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project

It was with great honor and reverence that today, on Mother's Day, I completed a small piece of a very special project in which I am privileged to participate. The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project was founded by Ina May Gaskin, the mother of the U.S. modern midwifery movement, almost ten years ago. Ina May's vision was that each mother who has died in childbirth since 1982 (the year after which no improvement in maternal mortality has been made in this country) be commemorated with a unique quilt square.

My first assignment for this project was to create a square commemorating Susan Goodrich. Susan, a Latin American scholar and associate professor of modern languages and literature, died on January 11, 2009, giving birth to her son, Charles Moses Martin Goodrich.Although shocked and grief-stricken, Susan's husband Robbie gathered the strength and presence of mind to care for baby Moses, in the way Susan would have wanted. This included breastfeeding Moses. The hospital where Susan gave birth didn't store breastmilk, and Robbie learned that the nearest available would take days to reach them. After speaking to a dear family friend who was still nursing her own child, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and now there is a community of women in Marquette, Michigan, who are taking turns nursing Moses from sunup to sundown. Ironically, the first literary reference to this kind of nursing was the story of baby Moses in the Bible (Exodus 2:1-10). When I received Susan's name from Ina May, I had already heard a piece of this incredible story. Though I know it is impossible, I tried to capture this moment of new life, new death, mourning, embracing, and community in a single quilt square. Most of this square was created on Friday night, with a full moon shining at my back through my dining room window. There was also a full moon the night Susan gave birth to Moses.Ina May hopes that this project will receive the national media attention it truly deserves very soon. When this happens, she expects to be overwhelmed with names of mothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters who have died giving birth in this country. She will need quilters to help commemorate these women and educate our nation about this dangerous trend.

Please contact me or comment on this post if you would like your name added to a list of quilters that we may contact for help when the time comes.

"The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project is a national effort developed to draw public attention to the current maternal death rates in the United States, as well as to the gross under-reporting of maternal deaths, and to honor women who have died of pregnancy-related causes. The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project is a voice for women who can no longer speak for themselves."