As you know, every month I introduce a charity organisation on my blog in order to raise awareness for them. Since I have this fantastic platform, my blog, I try to use it to support good causes too. This month, I’d like to introduce: Tiny Tickers
I have chosen Tiny Tickers as the good cause of the month as one of my fellow bloggers’, Louise’s little girl, Jessica has died just recently. I followed their story and it really touched me. Jessica was born with half working heart.
About the charity
A baby is born with a serious heart condition every two hours in the UK (that is 1 in every 125 babies) and despite congenital heart disease being one of the biggest killers of infants in the UK, less than half of congenital heart defects are picked up during routine prenatal scanning. This means, that 1,000 babies each year that leave hospital with their heart defect undetected.Tiny Tickers was founded in 1999 by world-renowned fetal cardiologist Dr Helena Gardiner. Its mission is to increase early detection rates of cardiac conditions thus improving a baby’s chances of survival and long-term quality of life. They help to train specialist sonographers in maternity units, which has a huge impact.
Pulse Oximetry Testing Campaign
Their latest campaign is the Pulse Oximetry Testing Campaign. This test helps to detect heart defects by measuring oxygen levels (oxygen saturation) in the blood. It uses a light sensor to assess the level of oxygen in the baby’s blood and takes a few minutes at no discomfort to the baby. Now, this test is not included in the mandatory pregnancy tests provided by NHS. But the charity has a big plan: to provide Pulse Oximetry Testing kits in maternity units across the UK which can then be used as part of standard newborn tests.
How can you help?
Text BABY46 £5 to 70070 to donate to our Pulse Oximetry project and help us support more tiny hearts. You can also donate here.
If you’re interested reading about other inspirational charities I wrote about, why not have a read: Good Cause Of The Month: The Secret Pillow Project