Emerge Poverty Free : The Safe Birth Project

What can be one of the most joyful experiences in a woman's life is also charged with a degree of uncertainty. The majority of us are lucky enough to live in countries with well supported healthcare networks, close to help in the final stages of pregnancy. In many parts of the world this isn't the case. For lots of expectant couples, help is out of reach or simply unavailable. The World Health Organisation states that, in poorer families worldwide, 43% of births are not attended by a doctor, midwife or trained nurse. In looking into this, I was shocked to find out that women in developing countries are around 14 times more likely to die in childbirth than those in economically developed countries.

Thankfully things are changing - mortality rates are down by 45% globally since 1990, largely due to increased access to the most simple of resources, training and support. My sister works at a charity called 'Emerge Poverty Free' who run a "Safe Birth" project. Through the program they provide antenatal classes for thousands of expectant couples and help to train voluntary Community Midwives, providing them with a bike and a phone so they can assist where and when they are needed. The 'Safe Mama' kits provided are surprisingly simple - soap, sterile gloves, clean sheets, etc - but they are astonishingly effective. Rates of infection have plummeted by 80%.

With these simple interventions, the newborn mortality rate has already been halved in the first 18 months of the project.

All this is remarkably cheap. £100 will train a Community Midwife, £50 will equip her with a bike and phone, £12 will fund antenatal classes and just £3 buys a 'Safe Mama' kit. If you feel compelled to donate a little of your hard-earned cash to this project it will make a very real difference in the lives of these women, their babies and the families around them. Lets give more women the chance to look back on the birth of their child as a joyful one.

For the next two weeks, from the 14th to 28th May,  I will be donating - in the name of the client - 10% of total order directly to the organisation. This applies to both the Core and Carta collections and to any orders placed online, by correspondence and in person. The donation from the simplest card-holder would fund half a dozen 'Safe Mama' kits and the commission of the smallest of the handbags would pay for the complete training of a new Community Midwife. The largest of the bags would train and provide transportation for two midwives.

To ask any questions please feel free to write to me personally on mt@marktallowin.co.uk. 

To donate directly, head to the Emerge Poverty Free website or simply contact them on info@emergepovertyfree.org or 020 7839 3854