Getting the fundamentals right

Baby Lifeline was founded by Judy Ledger following the tragic loss of her first three babies who were all sadly born too small to survive. For over four decades, the charity has supported and worked with NHS professionals at the heart of care: buying equipment, developing and providing critical training, conducting research and lobbying for change. Now recognised as one of the UK's leading mother and newborn baby charities, the impact of Baby Lifeline's work extends to thousands of families and healthcare professionals each year.

‘The impact of Baby Lifeline's work gives me hope that future families will receive better care and have safer births’. Sandra Igwe, advocate for Black maternal health; Baby Lifeline Family Voices Group member

Each day, 13 babies are stillborn or die within the first 4 weeks of life in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2021), and every 4 days, a family is left without a mother as a result of causes relating to their pregnancy (Felker et al, 2024). Research shows that many of these mothers and babies may have had a different outcome with different care (Felker et al, 2024), and that those from disadvantaged backgrounds, people with Black and Brown skin and those that do not speak English as a first language are disproportionately impacted (Draper et al, 2023a, b; Felker et al, 2024;Kenyon et al, 2024).