CHRISTY TURLINGTON BURNS Motherhood & Making a Difference

THE MATERNAL HEALTH ADVOCATE OPENS UP ABOUT PARENTING, HER NEW PODCAST AND MOTHER'S DAY PLANS

- BRITTANY TALARICO

When Christy Turlington Burns experienced a rare postpartum hemorrhage following the birth of daughter Grace in 2003, every second counted. "Even though it was scary and painful, I was in the care of very capable people," she tells People. "Everyone should have that level of care."

The experience inspired her to launch, in 2010, Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit that advocates for safe maternal postpartum health care. Since then Turlington Burns, 55, has traveled the globe to drive awareness, and EMC has invested more than $42 million to help make pregnancy and childbirth safer and more equitable. The model, who is also mom to son Finn, 18, with her husband, actor and filmmaker Ed Burns, is proud that the change she envisioned is beginning to take place. "When I look back to what the world was like in 2010, nobody was talking about maternal mortality," she says. "The U.S. maternal health crisis, especially the Black maternal health crisis-those words were not being uttered when we started this work. It feels good to play such a large role in getting attention around this issue."