The founder's story and the birth of Mother's Comfort

Becoming a mom has been life transforming for me. My birth experience led me on a journey with a focus on underprivileged pregnant women.

I had a very capable gynaecologist and chose a prestigious birthing centre to ensure I would experience a seamless birthing experience. However, at 33 weeks of pregnancy I had a near-death experience and had an emergency c-section after a severe case of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). Chances of survival for both my child and I were reducing, but my gynaecologist and the medical personnel attending to me worked hard to stabilise me. I received post-natal care and was in the HDU for a week, and my child was in the NNU for about a month.

Based on that history of PIH, my gynaecologist advised me to get prenatal care in my future pregnancies so as to minimise the risk of developing PIH again. In the next two pregnancies I got prenatal care; my gynae and I took the necessary precautions. I ended up having an emergency c-section at 35 weeks on my second pregnancy and 36 weeks on the third pregnancy due to PIH, but these c-sections were not as high risk as the first one.

From that experience I realised how important the role my gynaecologist had played in ensuring that I had a safe pregnancy journey. Without access to this critical and timely care, my children and I would not be here today.

Following my experience with prenatal, antenatal and post-natal care, I had to put myself in the shoes of those mothers who are unable to access antenatal care for various reasons, including not affording the registration fees. I realised that some maternal deaths and infant deaths are avoidable, if only the mothers had the opportunity to get prenatal, antenatal and post-natal care.

Many other women are not as fortunate. My story is not exceptional, nor is it unique — every woman has a story. Hence Mother's Comfort was born, to help improve the quality of life of underprivileged pregnant women.