Birth Matters! Change is possible

In Armenia, social pressure and expectations on women are high to marry and start a family. The birth experience in Armenia is fraught with challenges, barriers and fears. For example, the cesarean section rate was 3.4 % in 1990, 18.9% in 2010, and in 2021 was a staggering 37.5%, more than double the WHO recommended cesarean rate of 15 percent. Some Yerevan hospitals have reported cesarean section rates up to 51% in recent months. Cesarean section can be lifesaving for both mother and baby when necessary. However, when done without indication, this surgery can have adverse outcomes, including increased maternal mortality, hemorrhage, organ injury to mother and baby, and disruption in breastfeeding, to name a few. Cesarean can also increase stillbirth in future pregnancies, and lead to higher infertility rates, a concern for Armenia.

While every woman has the right to birth as she chooses, there is a void of information and resources available around birth options, prenatal care, postpartum healing and the psycho-emotional tools needed to traverse this threshold with peace and integrity. Given combined stressors, the UNPF reported that Armenia’s birth rate has reached an alarming all-time low of 1.6. This number is the lowest in the region. These factors combined, create serious public health and demographic security issues for Armenia.

Armenian women seek a space for trusted information, community support, and hope. We have come together in solidarity as a volunteer group of experienced birth professionals from Armenia and the diaspora (including physicians, midwives, doulas, psychologists, and educators) to build a space of care, education, support, and community. This initiative will be called the Michel Odent Mother Center (MOM Center) based in Yerevan, Armenia and services will be available throughout Armenia and Artsakh online.

We are seeking seed funding to launch the center and initiate the first year of activities, including hosting an international symposium, developing a robust mother-child-centered curriculum, expanding mental health services and developing a public health education campaign.

PLEASE contribute to this critical work of supporting the women of Armenia to birth with confidence, calm and dignity.

Give $50 to help us create a digital presence to start sharing and building the vision

Give $150 to support the first International Symposium that will launch the center

Give $250 to help initiate strong networks of learning between providers and consumers through the development of education materials and platforms

Give $500 to support the creation of a safe space in Yerevan for mothers, volunteers and new families to gather and learn together

Give $1000+ to become a gold level member of the MOM center

With Much Gratitude,

The M.O.M. Center Team