As we approach the end of 2023, it’s time to reflect on our achievements this year and look forward to the future. We’re so grateful to everyone that has supported us, donated to our appeals and volunteered their time with us – thank you!
Your support goes towards our goal of making sure every mother, birthing person and baby gets the best care possible throughout pregnancy and those precious weeks afterwards.
Here are some of the things you helped us to achieve this year:
We sent £2million of equipment to Ukraine
This year we sent over £2 million of equipment and aid to Ukraine. Fifteen consignments have been distributed all over the country to the places that need it the most. Supplies ranged from Mum Bags and toys to fetal monitors, BabyWarmers, beds and wound dressings.
Our Community Midwives’ bags went global!
Our Community Midwives’ bags are already in use in 131 organisations in the UK and Channel Islands, and in 2022 we started sending them to Ukraine.
This year, Baby Lifeline Community Midwives’ bags have been sent to:
- Rural areas of Malawi following Cyclone Freddy
- Turkey following this year’s earthquake
- Uganda: Liz Payne, a midwife from Milton Keynes University Hospital, very generously donated some Baby Lifeline kits bags for use by the MAMA (Midwives at Maternity Azur) clinics in Uganda
- New Zealand: Baby Lifeline supporters Paul and Jane Beebe purchased a bag to take with them on their festive visit to Canterbury
Our CEO, Judy Ledger, received an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List
We were delighted to learn that Judy had been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List! Baby Lifeline is immensely proud to have achieved so much over the years, none of which would have been possible without Judy’s determination and commitment to making labour and birth safer and better for every family. Judy said:
“The charity has been a lifeline for me following the loss of my babies, Lisa, Emma and Stuart, and to think that my work has been recognised with an MBE is truly humbling. It is also wonderful that patient safety in maternity and neonatal services are being recognised. At Baby Lifeline and Baby Lifeline Training, we have the honour of working with truly passionate and dedicated health professionals – I would not have been able to achieve what I have without their support and guidance over the years.”
We hosted 450 delegates at our Fourth Annual National Maternity Safety Conference in September
During our 2023 event, we once again focussed on learning together for a safer maternity future, building on the overwhelming success of our previous three conferences. The day brought together delegates, speakers, and exhibitors from hundreds of organisations across the UK and further afield. In attendance were senior decision makers from NHS trusts, frontline staff, service users, and campaigners. Keynote speeches were given by Professor Suzette Woodward and members of the Baby Lifeline Family Voices Group, Sandra Igwe, Sadia Haqnawaz and Kayleigh Griffiths.
The aim of the conference was to facilitate collaboration and discussion between all stakeholders within maternity, and to ultimately help to achieve Baby Lifeline’s goal: the best possible outcome for every mother and baby.
Next year’s conference will take place on 26th September 2024 – save the date!
Our UK Maternity Unit Marvels (MUM) Awards gave families the opportunity to thank the team that helped them in their maternity journey
We asked families to celebrate the amazing work that maternity and neonatal teams do, and have done for families across the UK by nominating them for a UK MUM Award. The awe-inspiring stories demonstrated team-working, quick-thinking and excellence from health professionals in maternity and neonatal units across the UK.
We celebrated at three events in October! The winners, judges and special guests joined us for a special reception at 11 Downing Street and a Gala Dinner at the RCOG in London, and the families joined us for a party at Center Parcs!
We trained over 2500 healthcare professionals across the UK and beyond
2023 has been another busy year for Baby Lifeline Training as we delivered study days across the country, developed brand new courses, and met lots of wonderful delegates and faculty.
We trained more than 2500 delegates from all four devolved nations, with people joining us from as far afield as Shetland, the Isle of Wight, Cardiff, County Mayo, and even Spain to learn together.
We were excited to be involved in the national pilot of the new Maternity and Neonatal Independent Senior Advocate (MNISA) role. In this important new role, the MNISAs will be supporting families following an adverse event in maternity services. We developed a six-module course with in-person, online and on-demand elements.
We also developed a new course, Governance, Assurance and Improving Quality and Safety in Your Maternity Services, and updated existing courses including our Examination of the Newborn course, which ran for the first time since before Covid.
As always, we continue to measure our impact, and have been pleased to hear positive feedback from our delegates. Read more about our training in 2023 here!
You can help us this festive season
We appreciate every single donation and all our volunteers and supporters. You can help us this festive season by:
- Donating directly to our Christmas Appeal
- Sending our festive e-cards to your loved ones via DontSendMeACard.com
- Shopping at Advent of Change and donating to 36 inspiring charities (including Baby Lifeline)
- Liking, retweeting and supporting us via social media – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
What’s next for Baby Lifeline?
With your help we continue to improve safety and make care better for every mother, birthing person, baby and the frontline maternity professionals that support them.
There’s still a lot of work to be done, but with our supporters behind us, we’re ready.
Thank you so much, and we’ll see you in 2024!