I'm 50 this month and I really, really need your help.

I'm asking for 50p, or £5, or £50, or £50,000 or whatever you can afford to give.  I interact with far more people online than I do in real life and I'd love it if you can help Action on Pre-Eclampsia on this special occasion, as the charity, like so many others is having a desperately tough year.

I'm CEO of APEC, it's the best job I've ever had, we make a difference, we train thousands of midwives every year, we support hundreds of families and we are involved in £30m of research. We do this with a team of 3 part time staff.  We punch way above our weight.

Pre-eclampsia is a common and horrid condition of pregnancy, if it is mild it might mean a prem baby, at it's worst it will kill mum and baby and we are working tirelessly to make things better for people affected by it.

1 in 10 pregnancies will have complications around high blood pressure, 1 in 30 will get pre-eclampsia and today in the UK we will lose 2 or 3 babies because of pre-eclampsia.

2 or 3 babies will die tomorrow. 

And this is in the UK, where pre-eclampsia is well treated, globally it's a mess with tens of thousands of mums and babies dying every year.

13 years ago I heard the words pre-eclampsia, thankfully, hours later my daughter was born well, a few weeks earlier than her due date with no vital signs.  Great care was taken of my wife and daughter and all is well but we are the lucky ones, which is why I work every day to make the world a little better for anyone who has pre-eclampsia.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to APEC So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.