Saving Mothers has partnered with obstetricians to provide women and traditional birth attendants with the supplies and training they need to ensure clean and healthy deliveries.

Birthing kits can greatly improve the cleanliness of home births and promote sanitary delivery practices in resource-poor areas. Studies have shown that clean delivery kits greatly reduce the risk of umbilical cord infection. In a study conducted in Mwanza, Tanzania, babies whose mother used a birthing kit were 13.1 times less likely to develop umbilical cord infections than their peers who did not. In addition to birthing kits, research has shown that clean delivery programs can substantially reduce neonatal tetanus and sepsis. These types of programs are a viable option to lower maternal and child mortality rates in poverty-stricken areas where women lack access to professional medical facilities.

Saving Mothers has distributed birthing kits to traditional birth attendants and pregnant women in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Guatemala. Due to the lack of funds and transport, the majority of women in these areas give birth at home without the aid of trained health care professionals. Saving Mothers’ birthing kits have received overwhelmingly positive reviews and our program continues to provide women and newborns with clean delivery supplies that help prevent their risk of sepsis and other life-threatening infections.

After more than a decade of civil was, Sierra Leone has the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. One out of every eight women dies of complications related to pregnancy or childbirth -- 2,000 out of every 100,000 die each year during labor or delivery. In Liberia, the figure is about 1,000 in every 100,000, but the mortality rate is on the rise, jumping 71 percent in just the last year.

Due to a lack of funds and transport, 80 percent of live births occur in the home without the aid of health care professionals. In these conditions, the risk of sepsis and other life-threatening infection is immense.

A $50 donation will pay for approximately 10 birthing kits and could save over 20 lives. Click on the button below to make a tax-deductible donation toward the distribution of clean delivery kits for rural women and birth attendants in the regions that need them most.