Chronic maternal morbidity affects women’s health, dignity and quality of life for years after childbirth, yet it rarely features in global maternal health planning. On 23 September 2026, ARMMAN and the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) brought it to global attention at “Beyond Survival: Carrying Chronic Maternal Morbidity into the Maternal Wellbeing Agenda,” a closed-door roundtable held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). It drew nearly 40 representatives from multilateral agencies, philanthropy, civil society, clinical care, health systems, advocacy and financing.
Participants examined chronic maternal morbidity through the lenses of clinical care, health financing, gender equity and women’s lived experiences. They agreed that conditions such as pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and faecal incontinence, perineal trauma, sexual dysfunction and perinatal depression are measurable and addressable, and deserve recognition within the global maternal health agenda. The discussion followed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2025 maternal wellbeing framework, the first to extend care to one year postpartum.
The roundtable marks the start of a longer effort. ARMMAN and IUGA will now work to turn the discussion into policy commitments, measurement frameworks and sustained funding, so that every woman’s health stays visible and prioritised long after childbirth.
This advocacy draws on the white paper “Chronic Maternal Pelvic Morbidity: A Neglected Tragedy,” published in the International Urogynecology Journal and co-authored by our Founder, Dr Aparna Hegde, on behalf of the Foundation for International Urogynecological Assistance (FIUGA).
Read the full paper here.