Here’s to 2017 (and to you)
Here at Pregnancy Twinning HQ, January inspired us to think back over the past year and dream big for the next one.
It’s been a fantastic year, with so many families in the UK linking up with families in Malawi to share the joy of new life and keep mums and babies healthy and safe.
For starters, we are thrilled that during December, you gave almost 300 women a lift to a midwife. By sending special Christmas cards, gifts and twinning pregnancies, you’ve enabled us to send motorbike-taxis to pick up pregnant women living in some of the most remote parts of Malawi and get them to a hospital or clinic in time to have a safe birth. Amazing work! Given that 350 women died the previous December in pregnancy or childbirth, mostly due to not being able to get to a midwife, you have made a huge difference to the statistics — and the real lives behind them.
“Without [my Mother Buddy’s] intervention I would have probably delivered on the way to hospital or at home. I delivered at hospital because of her advice and help.”- Maggie, Malawi
Also in 2016…
- We supported 1052 women and babies through pregnancy, birth and beyond.
- We trained 86 new Mother Buddies across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Mother Buddies started working in Sierra Leone and Uganda.
- We launched a nutrition expansion to the programme, where Mother Buddies can help the new parents to provide a balanced diet throughout their child’s crucial first two years of life.
- At the UK end, we built a new website, Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep you updated, and improved the twinning process so that you can hear about your twin while they are still pregnant and also get an update when the baby’s born.
“I have been sharing with my neighbours what my Mother Buddy taught me about going for antenatal clinic visits and how to take care of the child after delivery.” — Linda, Malawi
Our 2017 wish list…
We’ve got some exciting developments in the pipeline this year. Here are a few things we’re aiming for.
- Make it possible for you to twin your pregnancy with a mum in some of the other countries where we work, including Nigeria and Sierra Leone alongside Malawi.
- Tackle infant nutrition for all our Pregnancy Twinning families
through more people becoming 1,000 days sponsors. - Twin 1000 pregnancies!
- To work with you, we have visions of gathering an army of great volunteers and Pregnancy Twinning Champions across the UK, and we want to ask you to be the among the first. We’re small but growing and it’s no exaggeration to say our tens of volunteers shape what Pregnancy Twinning is and what it will be.
“What you are doing, it is like medicine. Keep going.” — Evelyn, Malawi
One of the greatest things that we’ve heard this year is that mums (and dads) who have been supported by Mother Buddies are passing on the knowledge they’ve learnt to their friends and neighbours, spreading a quiet revolution in maternal care.
With a little more help, we can change things for good in some of the world’s most remote places.
Could you tell a pregnant friend, a midwife, an antenatal class or new mums’ group about Pregnancy Twinning? Help us to spread the word and bring more women the maternal care we all deserve.
If you were inspired by what you read, please hit the green ‘Recommend’ button below so that other might stumble upon our big dreams for 2017 too.
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