World Pregnancy Week: Protecting Mothers and Babies Through the Gift of Blood

As South Africa marks World Pregnancy Week, theSouth African National Blood Service (SANBS)honours the strength of expectant mothers and the healthcare teams supporting safe pregnancies and births. While pregnancy is often a time of joy, it can also bring medical and surgical risks. Complications such as severe bleeding, anaemia, ectopic pregnancy, placental issues, and emergency caesarean sections frequently require lifesaving blood transfusions.

Obstetric haemorrhage remains one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in South Africa, making a reliable blood supply essential. SANBSis experiencing critically low stock levels of certain blood groups, such as Group O negative – a shortage that places mothers and newborns at risk during emergencies. World Pregnancy Week is a reminder that protecting mothers requires strong healthcare systems — and those systems rely on blood donors. This week, SANBS calls on South Africans to help ensure no mother loses her life due to a preventable blood shortage.