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Fighting premature birth - Ambassador

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Amy Williams MBE

Amy Williams MBE

I’m really excited to be getting involved and working with the Action team to help raise awareness of premature birth, and raise vital funds to help stop premature birth to tackle some of the toughest fights affecting our children. I was actually born prematurely myself along with my twin sister and now being a mum myself what Action Medical Research do has a whole new meaning for me. There are loads of great ways to get involved, so please, join me and think about how you can help fight back against premature birth. Let’s make some brilliant research happen.

Amy Williams MBE, British skeleton racer and Olympic gold medalist
Dr Dawn Harper

Dr Dawn Harper

Two of my three children were born prematurely so I know only too well the fear and anxiety that comes with such an early birth. My children are now grown up but it is so frightening that premature birth is still the biggest killer of babies in the UK and that around 60,000 babies are born too soon each year. Medical research is so important if we are to change this and that’s why I’m supporting Action’s campaign to shine a spotlight on the devastation caused by premature birth.

GP and TV presenter Dawn Harper has been a passionate supporter of Action for more than a decade
Davina McCall

Davina McCall

This really is a cause close to my heart. My mum developed pre-eclampsia when she was expecting me, and I was born prematurely – I could so easily have not been here today if it wasn’t for medical advances. Premature birth is still the biggest killer of babies in the UK. So join me, and fight back.

Davina has been involved with Action since she was just nine years old, when her granny Pippy took Davina on her first sponsored walk.
Professor Rachel Tribe

Professor Rachel Tribe

I have spent the last 20 years investigating the causes of premature birth. We have made some great progress, but there is still lots to learn and many questions to answer. High quality and focused research is vital if we are to save lives and make a real difference to this growing global problem.

Professor Tribe is an Action funded researcher who is currently studying the role infection plays in triggering premature birth
Dr Joanna Cook

Dr Joanna Cook

I hope that one day my work will stop babies being born too soon, and when my own daughters and their peers are grown up and starting families of their own, we’ll be dealing with a very different set of statistics to those we see today. I’m convinced that through research we can find the important answers that will save lives.

Dr Cook is a former Action Research Training Fellow, who is working on a test to predict the risk of early labour.
Jenny, Elijah’s mum

Jenny, Elijah’s mum

Elijah led a very traumatic little life. He died sleeping on my chest in the small hours – that’s when I joined the fight to stop premature birth.

Elijah was born extremely prematurely at 25 weeks and sadly lost his fight for life at just 37 days old.
Professor David Edwards

Professor David Edwards

Research to unravel the unknowns that still exist around premature birth is desperately needed. We know that rigorous scientific research works – it has improved outcomes and saved lives over the last 3 or 4 decades- but there is so much more still to do . That’s why I’m proud to be an ambassador for Action’s campaign to help stop babies being born too soon. And I would urge you all to get involved and join the fight.

David Edwards is Professor of Paediatrics at Kings College and Action Medical Research Trustee.
Dr Darren Smith

Dr Darren Smith

Despite huge advances in neonatal care, it’s estimated up to 4,000 premature babies in the UK will develop a serious bowel disease, necrotising enterocolitis, and/or sepsis, a blood infection, after birth. Too many lose their lives from these dangerous complications and those who survive are often left with lifelong disabilities. That’s why I’m supporting Action's campaign. Medical research is so important – to discover ways to help bring more babies to term safely and help those that are born early survive those dangerous early months

Dr Darren Smith is researching viruses in breast milk to investigate the part they play in protecting very premature babies from serious illnesses such as Necrotising Enterocolitis.