Art for Maternal Health Awareness

Healthcare is a human-right.

Sculpture artist, Moira Purver was commissioned by the WOMAN trial to create this spectacular bronze statue, appropriately titled WOMAN, that depicts a mother on her knees holding her new baby in her arms just after giving birth.

Every year 14 million mothers develop severe bleeding after childbirth or postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) as it is also known, and about 2% of them will die with an average of 2-4 hours from the start of bleeding to death.

The WOMAN trials aim to provide research-based information, as to whether an old drug, Tranexamic Acid (TXA), can improve the outcomes for women who develop this life-threatening condition and ultimately save lives.

The WOMAN trial showed that if given within 3 hours, TXA can reduce the risk of death due to bleeding by one third.

This art piece highlights and aims to bring awareness that we must do all we can to ensure babies have their mothers alive and start to question why mothers are still dying unnecessarily when TXA can save the lives of women with PPH.

Purver said,

“I created this sculpture to show the happiness, joy, and overwhelming love a mother feels the first time she holds her baby. It also shows the vulnerability of a new baby and brings home that we must do all we can to make sure babies have their mothers alive to care for them”

This went on display at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on International Women’s Day in 2018.