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HomeHealthA Child is Born

A Child is Born

So far we have raised over £35,000 of the £50,000 needed, mainly through the efforts of Bryanston School who fundraised during 2020. This will go towards the cost of building a Safe Motherhood Unit (SMU) at the maternity unit in M’bang’ombe. Thank you to every single person who contributed so generously. We are currently fundraising to push for the final amount. We hope to start the extension and renovations in 2024, and we will post updates here and on social media.

The SMU will be a waiting home for new mothers at the recently completed maternity unit. We want to reduce risks in childbirth to expectant mothers and their unborn children.

Since opening our maternity unit in M’bang’ombe (stage one of the project), the unit has already been a great success, with monthly births increased from 20 a month to 80 a month. On Christmas Day 2015 three babies were born at the Maternity Unit, with two needing to be transferred to Lilongwe because of complications.

Malawi has the highest rate of pre-term births in the world, 18.1%; due to mothers having persistent malaria, HIV and malnourishment.

Globally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5. The waiting home will provide nutritional training to mothers in attendance as well as resolve complications which emerge in the latter stages of pregnancy.

In Malawi expectant mothers are not provided with food and support in hospital and so they are dependent on a relative to come along and care for them whilst in hospital. There is also nowhere for them to sleep after their – sometimes long – journey to the clinic, and before they go into labour. So mothers-to-be come to the unit late, often only as they go into labour.

Therefore, during the second stage of the project, for which we are fundraising through the ‘A Child is Born’ campaign, we are going to build a Safe Motherhood Unit, so that expectant mothers can come to the maternity clinic earlier. The building will also include observation rooms and an under 5’s clinic. In front of the building we will plant nutritional permaculture gardens.

In this way, we can make it easier for women to get to the clinic in good time, and reduce the risks in childbirth to both the mother and unborn child.

Do please help us to help the women and unborn children of Malawi by supporting our projects, thank you.

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