I’d always heard about premature births, but I never thought it would happen to me
Help spare parents like Liz the heartbreak of a premature birth.
Liz is all too familiar with this heartache after the loss of her twin boys, Oscar and Felix.
“I never thought our babies would be part of this statistic. Losing Oscar and Felix was unimaginable. That’s why any research that could ensure fewer families face the pain premature birth can bring is absolutely worth supporting, but I know it takes us all.”
With your help this Christmas, we can support a vital research project, led by Professor Rachel Tribe, that aims to develop a new treatment to prevent preterm birth – helping to spare families like Liz’s from the devastation of a premature birth.
Oscar & Felix's story
This year marks what would have been Oscar and Felix’s 10th birthday. In honour of their boys, Liz and her husband Phil, completed 10 fundraising challenges to help raise money for Action and the importance of research into premature birth.
We feel their loss every day, but knowing charities like Action are dedicated to funding research to help stop premature birth, so that fewer families face the losses we have, gives us purpose.
Preventing preterm birth
Professor Tribe and her team at King's College London are developing a new treatment that can help prevent spontaneous preterm birth by modifying the mother’s immune and inflammatory responses during pregnancy.
In an earlier study, they found that delivering human decidual stromal cells – found in the lining of the womb – during pregnancy can prolong pregnancy in a laboratory model of preterm birth.
Now the team is testing whether this cell treatment can also delay delivery to help save lives, while also studying the cells’ effects on inflammation and finding the best dosage and timing to maximise its success. If successful, this innovative treatment could ultimately lead to better outcomes for many babies and their families.
Pregnancy-focused research like this is rarely prioritised by government funders in the UK. That’s why supporters like you, who make Action’s work possible, mean so much to researchers like me.
Your support makes research happen
Donations through this appeal will support Professor Rachel Tribe’s research project that is co-funded with the charity Borne. If the value of donations raised exceeds the remaining £151,009 needed to support this project, the additional funds will be used wherever the need is greatest.