About Us
The foundation supports babies born prematurely
and give hope to families dealing with an unknown reality
In November 2019, Moshala Mothiba founded a nonprofit organisation known as Mahlogonolo Thobile Foundation. Giving hope to families dealing with the unknown reality of having a premature baby and provide support with new baby essentials. The foundation’s mission is to support preemie families as they navigate this challenging journey. This was spurred by my own experience in 2014 as mom to a preemie. The medical team, which includes my Obstetrician and Gynaecologist – Dr. AG Gamedze, my daughter (Mahlogonolo’s) Paediatrician – Dr. D. Ndiweni, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses, a Physiotherapist – Moshobane MD), a Clinical Psychologist – Mrs. Nonhlanhla Mngomezulu, and a Psychiatrist – Chiman VM, to name a few, helped to make the traumatic and emotional journey bearable.
Experiencing a placental abruption at 34 weeks of gestation in November 2014, the excruciating pain of waking up in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Unable to walk, sitting on a wheel chair as I go to NICU to see our baby more than 24hours of giving birth. Unable to carry our preemie and breastfeed immediately was heartbreaking. A placental abruption is a serious complication where the placenta detaches from the womb before delivery. This deprives the baby of oxygen and nutrients, thus leading to a mother giving birth prematurely
The organisation aims to continue raising awareness of numerous problems that women encounter which could result in premature birth, such as placental abruption, foetal distress, and preeclampsia, just to name a few. New preemie families can find solace in seeing other families thrive and discovering how we share emotional similarities by sharing our stories.
The organisation strives to support women and children from different walks of life, including orphanage homes, and plans to extend help to women giving birth in jails in the future.
Speaking with other preemie families is reassuring because they can relate to the small achievements that have made a big impact on present NICU families or any preemie family. The organisation is committed to providing an enabling environment for families having difficulty with preterm births and supporting them throughout the difficult journey with compassion and resilience.
An online community has been established within the organisation to offer support. “The Preemie Moms Tribe” is the name. It all started with mothers at Life Brenthurst Hospital in November 2019, in Gauteng province. Today we have families in 8 provinces in our tribe.
The main objective of the support community focuses on:
- Raising awareness about premature birth
- Sharing our unique preemie stories to help families that have just embarked on the journey
- Every preemie milestone is recognised and celebrated, including their very first graduations (NICU graduation)
- Providing emotional support to all preemie families
- In essence, we have each other's hands as we navigate the preemie world
- We know and understand that it is not fair to compare children. We recognise and appreciate that our warriors grow at their own unique pace throughout the different phases of life