Send a safe birth: This last-minute Christmas gift is literally a lifesaver

Missed the Christmas post deadline? Forgotten to buy a present? Don’t panic! You can ‘send a safe birth’ with one of our online digital certificates… they’re quite literally lifesavers.

Maternity Worldwide’s digital donation certificates are delivered instantaneously and make original, sustainable last-minute gifts which goes towards saving lives in childbirth in low-income countries. And no postage required, so no need to worry about missing the deadline!

Every year 287,000 women die in childbirth, around 800 per day. 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. No baby should have to be born in a stable in this day and age but a modern-day stable in a privileged country like 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 where women have access to suitable obstetric care. But good quality healthcare for many of the world’s mums 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.

Actress and Golden Globe nominee Emily Watson (Chernobyl, Apple Tree Yard) is supporting the charity this Christmas. 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.’

Maternity Worldwide Chair, Dr Adrian Brown adds: ‘Whenever a baby is born, it should be a joyful celebration of new life but in low-income countries, a woman’s likelihood of dying in childbirth today is still as high as one in 45 (in the the UK, it’s only one in 5,400). Maternity Worldwide is asking you to support our work and help bring down these odds.’

With our choice of digital certificates, not only can you sponsor a safe birth or emergency delivery, get a health worker on their bike, train a midwife, buy a bicycle ambulance or empower a woman to become financially independent. All online and all instantaneous, delivered electronically at any time of the day or night, even on Christmas morning.

Maternity Worldwide’s digital certificates are here to save the day, both for forgetful Christmas shoppers and more importantly, for women and girls in need of medical care in childbirth. Please help us make sure more birth stories have happy endings. It’s never too late to donate!

If you’ve forgotten someone, or if you simply want to support a good cause this Christmas, digital gift certificates are available 24 hours a day at https://www.maternityworldwide.org/get-involved/online-shop/#digital

Notes for editors

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.

Our Christmas 2019 Campaign features the modern-day Nativity story of Mary and Joseph Chimwanza and their baby Earnest, in Your readers can help families like the Chimwanzas by donating 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.

For further details, please email info@maternityworldwide.org (this box is monitored regularly throughout the day) or visit www.maternityworldwide.org.

Additional resources for journalists are available in our online press area: https://www.maternityworldwide.org/maternity-worldwide-press-area/