| The West African country of Mali has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world. A woman faces a 1 in 12 lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth. In America, it’s 1 in 3,000. Consequently, the village midwife in Mali is honored and overworked. Monique Dembele was one of them. She presided over births without electricity, running water, or any emergency backup. Author Kris Holloway saw this first hand when she was a Peace Corps volunteer. An actress reads from her book, “Monique and the Mango Rains”, in which Holloway describes Monique’s compassion and skill as she attends a woman in labor. |
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