Shona is to export skills on baby care

11:35am Thursday 23rd August 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A midwife from Airedale Hospital is jetting out to sub-Saharan Africa to help pregnant women give birth.

Shona Featherstone, 38, is travelling to Ile Ife, in Nigeria, with the hope of saving lives by passing on her knowledge in delivering babies.

She will also take around ten pieces of specialist equipment to a hospital and mentor staff to use them effectively.

Ms Featherstone said: "They have this saying in Nigeria that women are dying to give birth', because many women in Africa die in or after childbirth of largely preventable causes.

"I will be teaching the nurses and running study days on emergency health training. We thought that we could empower them to support their own women."

Ms Featherstone is being encouraged by her colleagues, who were inspired by a couple who run the Living Hope Hospital, in Nigeria, after they visited Airedale. A variety of people have helped and supported Ms Featherstone to make the trip on September 12.

A couple from Gargrave, whose child died, donated a fetal heart monitor to the cause and Ms Featherstone said that the trip would not have been possible without the help and support of her colleagues, who have raised over £1,000 for the expedition.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can call Airedale Hospital on 01535 652511 and ask for the labour ward.