Actress Emily Watson (Chernobyl, Apple Tree Yard) explains that not every birth is a time of comfort and joy.
Emily is encouraging people to donate to maternal health charity Maternity Worldwide this Christmas, after first supporting it as her chosen charity on the BBC Radio 4 Appeal in 2018. This year, you can buy an exclusive donation gift certificate for only £27 and help save a mother’s life. She says:
‘To me, Christmas means catching up with family and making time to enjoy each other’s company. Too many children in low-income countries will be without their mother this Christmas because of needless deaths in childbirth and the inability to access the standard of medical care we take for granted in the UK. Since 2002, Maternity Worldwide has been working to ensure that every woman, regardless of where she lives, can give birth safely and without fear. I would like to encourage you to donate to the Maternity Worldwide Christmas appeal, and help them continue to save lives in childbirth.’
‘As a mother, I am deeply concerned that in countries like Malawi, Ethiopia and Uganda pregnancy and childbirth are putting women’s lives at risk.’
‘There are still so many women who don’t have facilities close at hand. Maternity Worldwide needs your support to help save more lives.’
Every year 287,000 women die in childbirth. 99% of reported deaths are in low-income countries. Many women die after long, dangerous journeys, trying to give birth in makeshift buildings without the help of a midwife, and with no pain relief, antibiotics or proper sanitation. A modern-day stable in the UK may in fact be a warmer, safer and more comfortable place to deliver a baby than some of the facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Most deaths can be avoided easily and cheaply through measures which are readily available in the UK. But good quality healthcare for many of the world’s women is unaffordable or inaccessible.
Maternity Worldwide is a charity dedicated to saving lives in childbirth by helping women and girls in low-income countries access the high-quality maternal healthcare they need to be able to give birth safely.
Maternity Worldwide are asking people to donate just £27 to their Christmas 2019 Appeal, less than 1% of what a typical UK family will spend in the run-up to the festive season. Supports can donate online, support the charity by buying their exclusive Christmas cards and range of sustainable presents, or by buying Maternity Worldwide’s new 2019 Christmas Gift Certificate, priced at £27.
Maternity Worldwide works to ensure all women, wherever they live, can give birth safely and without fear. Founded by Dr Adrian Brown in 2002, over the past 17 years the charity has worked in eleven low-income countries and our projects have helped save thousands of women from dying unnecessarily in childbirth.
Your readers can help families like our modern-day Mary and Joseph and their baby Earnest by donating just £27 to Maternity Worldwide’s Christmas 2019 Appeal. A donation of any amount will make a huge different but the suggested donation of £27 is less than 1% of the amount a typical household in the UK spends in the run-up to Christmas. This small sum could make a big difference by:
Covering the cost of a safe birth for a mother at a health centre and follow-up care such as a preventative course of antibiotics
Sponsoring a student midwife’s training for a week
Contributing towards the cost of a caesarean delivery for women experiencing difficulties
Helping cover the cost of a bicycle so healthcare workers can reach mothers in remote villages
Please encourage donations to our Christmas 2019 Appeal via the dedicated JustGiving page: https://justgiving.com/campaign/Maternity-Worldwide-Christmas2019
Maternity Worldwide is working to reduce maternal mortality by training midwives and skilled birth attendants, improving access to health centres and hospitals, providing communities with maternal and newborn health information and empowering women to become financially independent and decision makers about their own sexual and reproductive health.
Our mission is to work with communities and our partners to:
identify and develop appropriate and effective ways to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity
facilitate communities to access high-quality, skilled maternity care
support the provision of high-quality skilled care
Maternity Worldwide is a registered charity no. 1111504 and our registered address is Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3XG.