Helping mothers and babies survive childbirth is a personal goal, says Melinda French Gates

Melinda French Gates says she takes personally the deaths of hundreds of thousands of women and babies during child birth each year and believes more people should get involved in the fight for improving maternal health care. French Gates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder and co-chair told The Associated Press that when her daughter, Jennifer, gave birth to Leila — Jennifer's first child and the Gateses' first grandchild — earlier this year, she couldn't help but think of her own experience giving birth. Several low cost and low tech interventions would increase those chances of survival, according to a new report released Tuesday by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that tracks progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals set at the United Nations in 2015.