Christy Turlington Burns is a pretty incredible example of just how much one mom can do: International supermodel, check. Designer, check. Mother of two, check. And in 2010, Christy founded the organization Every Mother Counts (EMC), which helps fund programs that allow mothers around the world to get prenatal care and medical support to safely give birth. This month, Every Mother Counts and Ergobaby are launching the Ergobaby Guest Designer Series. A portion of the Series’ proceeds will benefit EMC; Christy is the first guest designer. Here, she shares a little more about motherhood, managing it all, and what makes her so passionate about this project.
The Ergobaby Designer Series will be benefitting the organization you founded, Every Mother Counts. Do you think western women are aware of how dire the statistics are on maternal mortality?
I know that not enough people are aware that hundreds of thousands of women are still dying each year despite the fact that most of these deaths are preventable. Every Mother Counts was established as an advocacy and mobilization campaign to encourage more people to learn the facts and get involved. We hope that everymothercounts.org will be a resource to people to become empowered by better understanding not only the challenges but also the solutions so they can take action to ultimately improve the lives of girls and women worldwide. Our role is to bring the facts to light in a way that helps people everywhere relate to what we believe is a universal issue that touches us all. Education and access to information and skilled providers can and does save lives.
How will the Ergobaby Series help Every Mother Counts‘ mission?
Ergobaby and Every Mother Counts have a common interest in educating mothers to support them in this role, which depends on their well being. The collaboration allows us to reach new audiences, and offers moms and the people who love them to support other moms simply by choosing a product that is as stylish as it is useful.
You’ve travelled to countries all over the world for Every Mother Counts. What was one of the most powerful or memorable experiences you’ve had in this work?
I am always humbled when I travel and meet with other women and their families. While pregnant with my second child, I travelled to rural villages in Central America with CARE [a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty]. When I returned to the U.S. and delivered a healthy second child, I couldn’t help but continue to wonder about those women who, in the same state as I, were doing far more strenuous work and receiving far less support.
In 2007, I travelled to the highlands in Peru where maternal mortality rates decreased by 50% in less than 5 years thanks to Care’s FEMME (Foundations to Enhance Management of Maternal Emergencies) Project. That’s when I came up with the idea of [my documentary] No Woman, No Cry. I felt that if others could see just what is possible even in remote places like this village in Peru, they too might be inspired to get involved. For the documentary, we did even more travelling and met with women who shared their stories from Tanzania, Bangladesh, Guatemala and here in the U.S. It’s these women and countless others that keep me motivated to continue my work with Every Mother Counts.
You are the first guest designer in the Ergobaby Designer Series. What was inspiring about this project?
An old friend of mine who worked with me on nuala, the yoga inspired line I founded in 1999, was working on a project with Ergo when Every Mother Counts came up in conversation. My name came up as a potential guest designer because of my work with EMC. She connected us and that started a conversation about a collaboration.
We were of course excited about the opportunity because we are moms and Ergo was definitely a brand that we were familiar with and wanted to be aligned with. This partnership has been a true collaboration. I have been working with Ergo’s design team on this collection for well over a year now, going back and forth over designs and fabric samples. It’s been fun. I only wish I still had a small enough child to use the carrier because I think it’s so cool.
You have two children of your own, your daughter Grace and your son Finn. I feel like as moms, we often feel like we don’t give enough time to our kids even though we may be doing work we love. How do you reconcile yourself to having to spend time away from Grace and Finn in order to help so many others?
Being a mom is never easy, no matter how we approach it, but I hope that if I am fulfilling myself in my pursuits I can better fulfill my family’s needs. And in doing so, I can also provide a role model of someone who has the means and capacity to give of myself to my own and many, many others as well without depriving anyone.
When your kids were little, when did you find your Ergo to be especially handy?
I carried my babies all the time, especially my first. I don’t know that I ever let her down. It always felt most natural and instinctively better for us both.
A big part of Every Mother Counts seems to be about making sure mothers everywhere have the health care, resources, and support they need. What are some of the most valuable sources of support you’ve leaned on as a mom? Who do you turn to when things are a little haywire?
I have two sisters who are amazing mothers as well as a lot of friends who will listen when I need to be heard and offer advice if and when I ask. Sharing our triumphs and challenges is the greatest gift we women have.
Your filmmaker husband Edward Burns has been very involved in Every Mother Counts and with your documentary, No Woman, No Cry, so he’s obviously an incredibly supportive partner. What’s he like as a dad?
He is an amazing dad and partner and that’s been the way he supports me in my endeavors. As an amateur filmmaker he was very understanding of all I had to manage as the director and producer of No Woman, No Cry and held down the fort while I traveled over the course of those two years when I was making this film. He was also an objective eye when we were in the editing room. He continues to be a great supporter of EMC and has even directed a public service announcement for us.
For somebody who’s about to become a mom for the first time, what advice do you have?
I think the unknown is always a bit scary, but I found that educating myself and being gentle with myself was empowering. There are some things we can’t control in the process, but there is so much we can control. We have options and exercising those options is also empowering.
What are some of the hopes you have for your daughter’s generation?
I have a very self-possessed daughter and a very sensitive son. My wish for them both is to be kind, to be compassionate and to be mindful human beings.
To submit your birth story for a chance to win an item from this special Guest Designer Series, click here.
Holly was a magazine editor for over ten years at Marie Claire and Redbook, and is now a freelance writer and mama who’s written for O, the Oprah Magazine, Self, Whole Living, HGTV and parents.com, among others.
