The power of mums (and dads, and friends, and kids and colleagues)

This weekend was a double celebration for me — I spent a wonderful Mother’s Day with my family eating nice food, catching up, laughing, playing (and losing) board games. It was nice to make my mum feel special. But I also had the great feeling that we’re on our way to making a real difference to mothers’ lives all over the world.

Why? Well, last week Save the Children launched a new report, Missing Midwives alongside a call to action — we want to see a world where no mother gives birth alone. The sad fact is that 1.3 million newborn babies in the poorest countries die each year because their mothers give birth alone or without a midwife. Every mother knows how important proper healthcare is, and my own Mum was one of the first to sign up to be a Mother for Other Mothers.

Mums can make a difference, but we can all play our part. I like blogging, although I don’t do it enough, I rarely tweet and I’m not even on facebook. But I absolutely love getting out there, meeting people and working with local campaigners to lobby MPs from within their communities, to create change on a global scale. I was inspired by the March for the Alternative last week, the diverse mix of peaceful protesters that reminded me of Make Poverty History. 

It made me think that we could — and should inspire mums, dads, students, teachers, young and old to take action and show the world that we won’t stand for 1.3 million babies dying unnecessarily any longer.  Let’s get online, on telly and on the streets to get the message out there — NO CHILD BORN TO DIE!

When the time comes, me and my mum will be at the front of the march!