Return to Sierra Leone: When Hope Has a Heartbeat

Twenty years ago, Sierra Leone faced one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates—1,760 mothers dying for every 100,000 births. Today, that figure stands at 354. To put this in perspective, the UK’s rate is just 8 per 100,000. The gap remains significant, but every number represents a victory: mothers who return home to their families, communities that stay whole.

This November, four extraordinary midwives from the James Paget Hospital, an NHS Hospital based in the UK—Nicola, Lottie, Lisa, and Nicky—alongside LFAM trustee Peter, are returning to Sierra Leone with decades of expertise. Their focused mission: prevent deaths from postpartum haemorrhage by training 50 local midwives, creating two champion trainers who’ll multiply their impact, and distributing 200,000 life-saving Misoprostol tablets.

The midwifery training creates ripple effects throughout communities, with each trained midwife becoming a teacher and mentor to colleagues. The Misoprostol tablets — costing pennies yet saving lives — equip them to prevent postpartum haemorrhage, the silent killer behind a third of maternal deaths. Unlike Oxytocin, these tablets need no refrigeration and survive tropical heat. The champion trainers will become LFAM’s living legacy, continuing the work long after our volunteers return home.

Since 2005, LFAM has stood with Sierra Leone through every challenge — the Ebola crisis, socio-economic changes, and countless celebrations when mothers lived instead of becoming statistics. This partnership runs deeper than programmes; it’s built on trust and the shared belief that geography shouldn’t determine whether mothers survive childbirth.

This isn’t just about reducing statistics — though we’re proud of Sierra Leone’s progress. It’s about the woman who’ll hold her baby for the first time, the child who won’t grow up motherless, and the communities that stay whole.

Ready to be part of this life-saving mission? Whether you’re an individual moved by these stories or a company wanting to support transformative healthcare work, we’d love to hear from you. Every contribution brings us closer to a world where no mother dies giving life. Donate now to help save mothers’ lives.

This is the first in a special series documenting LFAM’s November 2025 mission to Sierra Leone. Follow along as we share real stories of courage, community, and the extraordinary power of midwifery to transform lives.