ABERGAVENNY midwife Emma Mills recently spent the day with TV presenter and singer Myleene Klass to launch the 'Build It For Babies' Save the Children Appeal which will save the lives of thousands of new-born babies in Bangladesh.

The appeal is launched during the charity's National Appeal Week and hopes to raise £1 million to build seven maternal health clinics in the north east of Bangladesh, to help more than 3,500 newborn babies each year survive their first crucial weeks of life. 

Working alongside a busy maternity team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, Save the Children ambassador Myleene Klass turned 'Midwife for a Day' to show how essential maternal healthcare is in those crucial first hours of a baby's life. She was joined by seven midwives from all over the UK who passed on their expertise to Myleene. 

After visiting Bangladesh with Save the Children earlier this year, Myleene has already seen first-hand the conditions that some women give birth in that inspired her to support this campaign.

Myleene revealed, "Early this year I took part in an emotional yet inspiring trip to Bangladesh with Save the Children.

"I saw first-hand the daily struggle mothers go through before and after they give birth. It's heartbreaking to think that women in this region of Bangladesh have to walk six miles and pay a month's wages if they want to deliver their babies at a health clinic.

"At home we take this healthcare for granted. I implore you to support the 'Build it for Babies' appeal. Just £5 can buy a brick to make one of the much needed health clinics." 

Mother of two, Emma Mills, 40, who has worked as a midwife for almost 15 years and recently won the RCM/Johnson's 'Mum's Midwife of the Year for Wales' award, currently practices as a community midwife for the Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

She is also very interested in international health work and saw this opportunity as a way of learning more about maternity and newborn care in Bangladesh.

Emma explained, "For the last few years I have been involved with a health link between Aneurin Bevan Health Care Trust and Southern Ethiopia, and have had the opportunity to travel with a group to some very rural areas where I have been able to teach basic life support skills, clean and safe delivery and many aspects of maternity care and care of newborns.

"It was an amazing opportunity to work with midwife tutors, midwives, health extension workers and traditional birth attendants in Ethiopia but also to gain some insight into the huge challenges that families and health workers face every single day in developing countries.

"These include lack of resources, women in labour having to walk 40k to get to health posts, sanitation, lack of water and many other difficulties. I will be returning to Southern Ethiopia this November for my third visit.

"I feel passionate about helping mothers and babies worldwide and I was delighted to be asked by Save the Children to help launch the Build It For Babies Appeal and hearing about experiences in Bangladesh and I am keen to get involved and help in any way possible."

The clinics in Bangladesh will provide vital, life-saving medical services to more than 150,000 people per year currently cut off from any proper kind of healthcare.

"Those willing to lend their support can make a £5 donation and buy a brick to help build the clinics, pay for a piece of medical equipment or give £150 to fund the salary of a paramedic for a month. 

Donations can be made via Save the Children's Build it for Babies virtual clinic microsite: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/buildit">www.savethechildren.org.uk/buildit.

Jessica Evans, Save the Children Fundraising Manager in Wales added, "Bangladesh is one of the worst countries in the world to start a life. 8 out of 10 mothers give birth in their home without a skilled health worker present, putting their own lives, and the lives of their babies at risk.

"We appeal to the Welsh public to donate so we can build clinics to help us stop these needless deaths."