Mother’s Day: Donate Birth Kits to Help Others

by Amy Sullivan on May 11th, 2012 | No Comments »

I gave birth to our second born daughter, Ruby, on the side of the road. No joke. I wasn’t holding out on traveling to the hospital or crossing my fingers about a spectacular home birth. Instead, a super, fast delivery and road construction played havoc on my birth plan, which was basically show up at the hospital and get shot-up with a big, fat epidural. FYI: Random strangers on the side of the road don’t usually carry big, fat epidurals in their trunks, so don’t bother asking.

Ruby’s birth describes her wild-haired ways perfectly, and it also cemented my love for mothers; moms who struggle, not just with birth, but with life. Moms are the glue of most families; the sticky part that holds everything together. Moms, those people who in just a few short days have an entire Sunday created to celebrate their special ways.

Typically, Mother’s Day brings in homemade cards, candles, and maybe even an extra nap. But last year, I decided to ask for (and give!) the moms in my life something different. I decided to celebrate women by giving a gift that helps others.

See, even during my roadside delivery, I had access to more resources than many women in different parts of the world. In the United States, a clean and sterile place to have a baby is expected. However, in Papua New Guinea, this isn’t so. In fact, in Papua New Guinea, the maternal death rate is 1 out of 7.

This statistic demanded blogger Adriel Booker’s attention, and quickly Adriel hatched a plan to start the Bloggers for Birth Kits initiative.

Bloggers for Birth Kits encourages bloggers all over the world to unite and spread the word about an easy way to get involved and help moms of Papua New Guinea. Clean Birth Kits contain simple items that can be purchased at a local pharmacy, or for $10.00, five complete Birth Kits can be donated in honor of the special mother in your life.

What's in these Birth Kits? Take a peek.

So, if you are looking for an original way to celebrate motherhood, click here and read about inexpensive kits that change lives.

Does anyone else have a crazy birth story to share?

Featured image courtesy of Flickr.

Can one beyond blessed family move from addicted to themselves to devoted to others? The author of this post shares honestly at Amy L. Sullivan about her family’s attempt to become less me, me, me focused and more others centered. Amy writes for print and online publications and is also writing a nonfiction book about serving others as a family.