Newborn resuscitation equipment in rural Cambodia

Hi! As many of you know I'm teaching midwives and midwife trainers in the most deprived and remote provinces in Cambodia alongside a couple of NGOs. I'm working across forty health centres, which are anywhere up to sixty miles from the nearest hospital, so having the skills and equipment to manage an emergency is absolutely essential.

A big focus of the training I've been offering is newborn resuscitation, as this is such a simple but life-saving skill and, although the maternal mortality rates are improving, the newborn death rate is still very high. Some of the centres have basic resuscitation equipment, although they are incredibly difficult to use and of a size and type we wouldn't consider safe in the UK. Many are broken, and those which aren't would be useless in an emergency - so not great really! I've heard horror stories from the midwives about babies being born in terrible condition and not having anything they could use to resuscitate them with, which is absolutely devastating.

The type of bag and mask that I want to raise money for is specifically designed for use in developing countries (LaerdalNewbornBag), and is incredibly easy and safe to use. I've been getting the midwives to practise with this model as well as their standard-issue one, in the hope that I might be able to secure these for them. Each time we've ended a session, the midwives have all said how much they want this piece of kit, so I'm absolutely certain they will get good use and save lives.

As I'm doing this independently it has to go through me directly rather than an organisation. The upside of this is that you know exactly where every single penny you donate is going! Each bag and mask set costs £13, so if you are able to donate that (or more if you're feeling generous!) I'll send you a picture of your donated resuscitation equipment going to its new home! I'm hoping to raise at least £500 to cover the bulk of the cost, but anything else is a bonus as there is also the issue of shipment (or collection!) from China.

Thanks for taking the time to read my plea, do ping me over a message if you have any questions, or would like to find out about how to arrange for a personalised resuscitation bag and mask, printed with a special message or picture of your own face.

Bisous!