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Every child deserves the safe birth Beatrice and Eugenie had
Alison Roberts5 May 2009
A family tragedy inspired Sarah, Duchess of York to join a campaign to support mothers the world over...
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, describes it as one of the worst days of her childhood. When she was nine years old, her heavily pregnant mother, the late Susan Barrantes, developed pre-eclampsia - a potentially life-threatening condition chiefly characterised by high blood pressure - and lost her baby.
"So we lost our baby sister Sophia," says the duchess. "My mother should not have survived either, but thanks to two amazing doctors she lived to be a good parent to my sister and me.
"But that pain of loss, suffered by so many mothers, is almost too much to bear. My older sister Jane also lost two babies - one at six months and the other stillborn. She says there is no greater sadness than being in the maternity ward with everyone excitedly hugging their babies while for you there's nothing to plan except a funeral."
These tragic incidents sprang to mind when Sarah was asked to support the latest campaign from the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood - a coalition of charities, NGOs and UN agencies that works to promote maternal rights and a decent standard of healthcare for mothers and babies in 112 developing countries around the world. Also backed by Kylie Minogue, Gwyneth Paltrow and Dame Judi Dench, its ribbon is white because in some countries white is the colour of mourning and in others it represents hope.
Not even the most sophisticated medical technology can save the lives of a small number babies but "across the world women and children are dying absolutely needlessly for want of basic drugs or trained midwives", says the duchess. "A mother dies because of the complications of pregnancy or childbirth somewhere in the world every minute. In the worst affected parts of Africa the risk of a woman dying in childbirth is one in eight. And it's thought that at least 80 per cent of these deaths are preventable."
While pre-eclampsia still poses a risk to women and babies in the UK, almost 40 years after Sophia's death, antenatal care and swift hospital and drug treatment can save both mother and baby. Yet in many parts of the world maternity care is still primitive, non-existent or too far away.
"I watched a mother and her baby die of eclampsia in Malawi," says Brigid McConville, UK director of the White Ribbon Alliance. "She was heavily pregnant and had walked 30km to get to the clinic, which was falling apart, had only one member of staff and no drugs. If she had been treated with magnesium sulphate - which costs less than salt - she and her child might have survived.
"The most important practical thing we can do is train midwives and health workers. But it's also about educating the community. There's no point building a brilliant hospital if women can't afford to get there, or aren't allowed to go.
Sarah Ferguson is particularly moved by the plight of child-mothers. "They can't say no to marriage and they can't say no to sex. In certain countries girls as young as 10 are married and then die in childbirth. Their little bodies just can't take the pressure."
The alliance, whose patron is Sarah Brown, is pushing hard to have maternal mortality issues discussed at both the G8 and next week's G20 summit in London. But the chances of that, in the context of global economic crisis, are slim. "There's a worry this will get pushed to the back of the pile," says McConville. "But in 2000, world leaders set out the eight Millennium Goals, one of which was the lowering of maternal mortality rates. That goal is the one most behind target.
"In fact, if we looked after women, we would go some way towards tackling the global economic crisis. Women do 80 per cent of the farming in Africa, and in many countries are the economic engines of the community. They hold the fabric of the community together."
The Million Mums campaign, launched by the White Ribbon Alliance this month, aims to gather a million supporters and raise £1 million.
Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson will travel to Nepal with the campaign later this year, to watch for herself the work of the alliance and see the intolerable conditions they are slowly improving. She is hugely committed to the project. "Governments in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Eygpt have focused on this issue, and fixed it," she says. "Even the poorest countries can do the same. We have both the momentum and the energy to help them. We feel we can do this."
A message to all mothers from Sarah, Duchess of York
I am a mother of two beautiful girls. Eugenie is 18 and Beatrice is 20. To be a mother is the most special and rewarding challenge, and my daughters are my world.
My own labours were not simple or easy: Beatrice went into a stressed situation halfway down the birth canal and my obstetrician said we were 60 seconds away from a Caesarean section. Thankfully she continued on happily to a normal birth, though I had an epidural.
Eugenie was born by Caesarean straight away because she was breached. But of course the births of my girls were medically supervised and in the end perfectly safe.
I was lucky, too, that my then-husband Prince Andrew was granted shore leave for both births, and I'm eternally grateful that he was there throughout, holding my hand. I couldn't have wished to have someone more special or more calm by my side.
I had what in reality very few mothers in the world have — medical support in a hospital and a loving husband with me.
How different it is for the majority of women. Half a million worldwide die in childbirth every year, leaving two million orphans. Yet 80 per cent of these deaths could be prevented with trained midwives and emergency obstetric care.
The role of mothers in any community is enormously important. They look after the health of the family — where vaccinations are available, they make sure their children have them, for example — and in many countries they also provide the household income. There is no doubt that women do most of the world's work. Yet maternal mortality rates across the world have not improved in 20 years. It is a hidden scandal.
As I write this, I cannot bear the thought of women having to go through labour without a midwife, nurse or doctor. It seems to me that no mother — no parent — can sit back complacently and not support the White Ribbon Alliance in its steadfast work to provide women in other countries with the same rights that we enjoy.
By sending one pound to the www.millionmums.org you can make a massive difference. I will send you a White Ribbon Alliance pin especially designed by myself and my friend Kitty Arden. It has a little bunch of flowers within it, so you can make someone happy — and help save lives.
Pins can be bought in Harvey Nichols or from www.millionmums.org and www.whiteribbonalliance.org
Reader views (1)
I think it is crucial to get the infrastructure right to support not only the birth of children but their growth to adulthood. What point a sparkling maternity unit, when there is no food in the larder, no fresh water, no sanitation, no shelter from the elements, and only the sure knowledge that bandits will come?
- Helen, norwich, 24/03/2009 16:08
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