woman: the following program is an original production of linktv. narrator: next up, an all new mothers day special. being a new mom is rewarding and challenging, but what extra burdens do mothers in poor countries face? come take a tour of the world's best and worst places to be a mom in this new report from "save the children" and viewchange.org. man: "viewchange" is about people making real progress in tackling the world's toughest issues. can a story change the world? see for yourself in "viewchange, the mothers index." narrator: you've heard the term lottery of birth.

more often than not, children born in rich countries win it, while those in poor countries lose. a child's life expectancy, health, education and so much more hinges on where he or she happens to enter the world. but there's also a lottery of motherhood, and expectant moms in developing countries are facing the toughest odds. every year more than 350,000 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, most simply because they don't have access to basic delivery care. and the ripple effect is dramatic. when a mother dies, her children are more likely to be poor, more likely to die before the age of five, or to drop out of school if they survive. but private aid groups and governments are working hard to change the odds in the lottery of motherhood. in sierra leone, a place that "save the children" ranks as

one of the very worst places to be a mom, a new government program is trying to turn the tide, as we see in this short film from "viewchange." woman: after a brutal decade-long conflict, sierra leone has the highest child and maternal mortality rates in the world.

[music plays] [dr. tagie gbawru-mansaray] i'm a medical doctor housed here at the princess christian maternity hospital.

narrator: one in five children die before their first birthday and one in eight women die during pregnancy.

narrator: the one referral hospital in the capital of freetown services a population of over 400,000 people. ibraham thorlie: good afternoon. narrator: though the hospital is severely understaffed, it is not the only reason so many people are dying. [ibraham thorlie] narrator: and often, those patients who come too late are very close to death. [ibraham thorlie] narrator: rather than watching their patients die, many doctors and nurses like rebecca pay for the worst cases from their own small salaries.

narrator: victor is one of the few lucky survivors in a place where so many die. however, the government has just launched a program providing free health care for pregnant women and children under five. [ibraham thorlie]

narrator: so where are the best and worst places to be a mom? for its state of the world's mother's report, "save the children" studied 164 countries and compiled a mothers index. at the top of the index, women have what they need to thrive: excellent medical services, plenty of skilled health workers, and opportunities for education and advancement. but the gap between the top and bottom-ranked countries is stark. at the bottom, one in three children suffers from malnutrition and one in 30 women will die from pregnancy related causes. and how does the united states stack up? number 31. america's maternal mortality is the highest of any industrialized nation. but the study is also clear

about solutions that work, and the very best solution for helping moms and children: more health workers on the front lines. the equation is simple. more doctors, more midwives and community health workers means more mothers and children surviving childbirth and the early years of life. nowhere is this more clear than a place like nepal, which is ranked 133rd on the mothers index. this "viewchange" short film from "living proof" tells the story. [boy singing]

translator: my name is maheswori. i'm 19 years old. my husband went to india to work. here there is no food. no rice, no nothing. around here there's no work. i am very, very scared. everyone has been asking about it, and that makes me even more scared. my first child was breach born, and i might just die this time. if i will live, i will live. if i will die, i will die. some said take her to the hospital. some said drive her down. everyone had opinions. but how would you get a car without money?

in november, my daughter was born. i had the baby in our cow shed. for 12 days after the birth, the baby and i were kept in the cow shed. on the 13th day, we were allowed out. you can't take a newborn in the house. god gets angry. you're better off in the cow shed.

induka kari: she was completely unaware of the fact that she would need medical care, because her first child was breach born. if she hadn't gotten proper care by a trained birth attendant, she would have died. maheswori: i'll rest for seven days, but then it's back to work. i have to pound the rice, carry water, cut grass, and chop wood. life is tough here.

narrator: don't go away. when we return, one country's child health success story that has the rest of the world taking notice. narrator: if there's one overwhelming success story in maternal and child health, it can be found in malawi, where almost half the country, 40%, lives in poverty. but for years, the government has been investing in all sorts of new plans for life-saving care. the result? the number of deaths in children under five has been cut in half over the past 20 years. malawi's striking results are strongly linked to efforts on the ground, house by house,

community to community, to give mothers the support they need. "living proof" has this success story from malawi.

man: my name is laitom chawinga and i have six grandchildren. i was born at home in 1948. in previous days, pregnant mothers were using unsafe methods. some would have their babies in grass huts. after giving birth, they would leave babies on the ground in the cold. we didn't know better. we had a lot of deaths. one day, hospital workers asked us to be a part of the agogo program.

we go to their house. we talk to both the man and the woman. we show them pictures and tell them what can happen if they give birth at home, that the mother of the baby can fall sick or die.

deaths have decreased, diseases have decreased, and life has improved. i am very happy because if the student fails, you are not a good teacher. i see fruits of what i teach, and i'm proud that i am a good teacher. narrator: access to healthcare

isn't the whole story, of course. helping women must include an investment in education. in rural bangladesh, communities are learning the real value of empowering women. this film from "save the children" shows that giving girls a voice can be the most powerful solution of all. woman: shilpi's father died when she was very young. her mother worked as a maid to

support shilpi and two younger sons. she earned only enough to feed them one meal a day. when "save the children" started the "girls' voices project" nearby, shilpi joined. she met with other teenage girls to build self confidence and learn new skills like making a budget and saving money. shilpi realized she could help support her family even without working outside the home. she started her first business weaving mats.

narrator: around the world, communities are coming together not only to save the lives of mothers and children, but to improve them, to give women real opportunities to change the courses of their lives. basic healthcare can solve the most urgent crises, but a bigger sea change, one that empowers women to learn, to marry later, and to decide

when to have children will ultimately close the gaps in the odds that mothers face. those changes are happening every day, country by country and girl by girl. sometimes in places like india, something as simple as a bicycle can make all the difference.

armene modi: for about a couple of years, we only focused on adult women and literacy for them. and i noticed many of the girls who came to the class were very, very young girls with mangalsutra, which is a gold and black beaded necklace around their necks, which in india is a symbol of matrimony. and they had babies on their

hips, and i started to ask what's going on and why are such young girls married off already? modi: in many villages, there were only schools to the seventh grade. there were no high schools, so we worked in 10 villages at that point in time, and there were only three high schools. so then i asked, you know, i asked the parents, the mothers, well, what happens to the boys? you know, how do you send the boys to school? and they said, well, we give them bicycles. and i said, well, what about the girls? and they said, oh, no.

it's a waste of money to give a bicycle to a girl. she's going to turn around and get married. and there's a famous indian saying: why water a plant that's going to grow in a neighbor's garden? so i thought, my god, if it's only a bicycle that's keeping girls from going to school, let's go ahead and, you know, give it to them. [bharati]

[bharati's mother] [bharati]

man: like what you saw? then visit viewchange.org, link tv's brand-new multimedia website. watch over 200 stories about new solutions to the developing world's biggest challenges, get involved with the issues, share the stories with friends, and help change the world all at viewchange.org. narrator: to read the full 2011 state of the world's mother's report and to learn more about "save the children," visit savethechildren.org. a a aj

woman: the following program is an original production of linktv. narrator: next up, the true story of a girl who just wants to go to school and has to change the mind of her entire village to do it. an award-winning animation and other short films from linktv's "viewchange" film contest. man: "viewchange" is about people making real progress and tackling the world's toughest issues. can a story change the world? see for yourself in "viewchange, crossing the gender gap." narrator: compared with men, the lives of women are so often hidden behind the walls of tradition, poverty, and isolation. compared with men, the stories compared with men, the stories of women so often