Nicholas Kristof's 'Half The Sky' Releases First Feature On Maternal Mortality (VIDEO)

Every 90 seconds, a woman dies giving birth.

That's the starting point of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's newest series of films, Half the Sky , named after their best-selling book. The series of six films will tackle a whole host of issues -- from sex trafficking to gender-based violence. The first feature takes up the cause of maternal mortality.

The film tells the story of Edna Adan and her maternity hospital in Somaliland, East Africa, where one in 12 women die in childbirth. Adan is working to change those statistics, and hopes to hire 1,000 highly-trained midwives to do so.

"In Africa women are dying of causes that can be prevented," Adan said.

A lower global maternal mortality rate will have far-reaching positive consequences.

"You can save lives. And when mothers are saved, babies are saved. When babies are saved, families are saved. It's saving the pillar of that family: Women."