Honor a special mother in your life with a gift that can saves the lives of mothers and babies in resource-poor communities. Between April 15 and May 12, every donation to the Global Links New Baby Bag program will be augmented with an extra $5 from GlobalGiving. The person you choose to honor will receive a tribute card from Global Links letting them know that your gift in their honor will welcome a baby to the community, and support a new mother at a very significant time.
Maternal/Infant mortality is high in resource-poor countries. In addition, new parents often lack basic items to care for their new baby. Poverty, inadequate access to healthcare resources, and social/familial pressures can prevent expectant mothers from receiving sufficient prenatal and maternity care. That can mean mothers and their babies dying from preventable causes during labor & childbirth.
If pregnant women have prenatal care and attended deliveries, maternal/infant mortality rates improve dramatically. Hospitals and clinics use "new baby" bags from Global Links - sturdy, handmade bags filled with baby clothes, a blanket, and other items that are appropriate in their community, as an incentive for mothers to come in for prenatal care, and to deliver in a clean environment with a trained birth attendant. The bags provide real assistance to the new family.
If a pregnant woman has prenatal care, potentially deadly problems such as preeclampsia can be caught and treated early. If she has a skilled birth attendant, she is more likely to survive some complications, and avoid others altogether, such as fistulas and certain types of infection. If she survives, her child is more likely to survive. Long-term impact - a healthier community.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
