Nonprofit organization My Bump, My Baby, My World Foundation has announced that it is raising funding to help provide free at-home ultrasound scans to expectant parents from low-income minority and military families. The organization aims to raise $2.5 million for its first round of operations, reaching residents in New York, starting with its pilot campaign in Brooklyn.
My Bump, My Baby, My World Foundation is the nonprofit arm of My Bump, My Baby, a commercial company that operates in the US and the UK, providing at-home ultrasound scans for pregnant mothers. 10% of the business’ profits are earmarked to support the nonprofit activities. Both organizations were founded by Charlotte Williams, a registered midwife in the UK with over 17 years of experience who has helped deliver more than 1,000 babies and managed maternity departments in some of the busiest hospitals in the world.
My Bump, My Baby, My World Foundation Logo
To qualify for the foundation’s programs, beneficiaries need to present proof of membership in any government-associated low-income benefit program or active military deployment. It will also prioritize applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds, due to their overrepresentation in maternal and infant mortality statistics. Following the foundation’s pilot in New York, it plans to expand its operations to New Jersey, Atlanta, and, eventually, other areas across the US. According to Williams, the My Bump, My Baby, My World Foundation seeks to reduce the preventable pregnancy-related death rates in those areas.
“Maternal mortality in the US has been worsening for almost all ethnicities, especially Black and Native American mothers,” says Williams. “However, it’s not being talked about in the news as much as it needs to be. In Brooklyn, for example, there is a 10% chance that a pregnant Black woman will die, which is unacceptable. We would love to look at the maternal mortality statistics six months to a year after we begin operating in an area, and hopefully see improvements in mothers’ and babies’ survival and health.”
According to Williams, providing free ultrasound scans at home will allow them to catch risky pregnancy cases that would otherwise fall through the cracks. There is a large number of pregnant women who are hesitant to go to the hospital for their prenatal checkups, due to various reasons, such as lack of health insurance coverage, impoverished family situations, or bad experiences with the health system.
Williams shares that, in one instance, an at-home ultrasound scan was able to catch an undiagnosed case of placenta previa in a mother who was adamant about giving birth at home. Placenta previa is a condition where the mother’s placenta fully or partially blocks the neck of the uterus, and proceeding with normal delivery could cause massive bleeding that could be life-threatening for both mother and baby.
Charlotte Williams, Founder of My Baby, My Bump, My World Foundation
My Bump, My Baby, My World Foundation’s sonographers go directly to people’s homes and use FDA-approved machines made by one of the largest medical equipment manufacturers in the world. By talking to the mothers in a place that is most likely to be safe and familiar to them, the foundation’s team can connect mothers to valuable medical resources and help correct any misconceptions about pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood.
Furthermore, Williams says that providing ultrasound scans at home removes the need for a mother who isn't sick to go to the hospital to get a scan, reducing the risk of catching an infection that could place her and her baby at risk.
“Pregnancy is not an illness. However, pregnant people are vulnerable,” Williams says. “Because of how the ultrasound system is currently set up, most pregnant mothers need to go to a hospital. Putting vulnerable people in a hospital setting exposes them to people who are actually sick. This is why we want to make at-home ultrasound scans more common. This also frees up resources at hospitals for people who need them, especially since ultrasound scans are used for non-pregnancy applications.”
Media contact:
Name: Charlotte Willaims
Email: [email protected]
