A Warwickshire charity set up to support pregnant mothers and newborn babies needs at least £500,000 to secure its future.

Baby Lifeline, established in 1981 after chief executive Judy Ledger lost three premature babies, has raised more than £5 million for vital equipment and training for maternity services in the NHS.

As the Coventry- based charity prepares to enter its silver jubilee year in 2006, the organisation is calling on Midlands businesses to help.

The 48-year-old, who has three grown-up children, admits part of the problem is "charity fatigue" following appeals for the Ethiopian famine and the Boxing Day tsunami. However if funding is not found soon, some of Baby Lifeline's projects may have to be cut back or closed.

Mrs Ledger said: " Maternity services are the ' Cinderella' service within the NHS so there's a great need for us to continue our work both in Britain and abroad.

"It's not just about buying equipment, medics and midwives need to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in training, emergency techniques and technology. We also educate them in issues surrounding risk management and domestic violence."

Earlier this year Baby Lifeline staged its first international conference in Kuwait, attended by medics and midwives from Iraq, Kuwait and the UK. In Britain about 8,500 babies die at or close to the time of birth, despite access to advanced medical technology and care.

Mrs Ledger added: "These problems aren't due to a lack of equipment, this is down to misinterpretation of information, such as fetal monitoring, and a lack of training.

"We know there's a huge crisis within the charity sector as a result of recent disasters and people are giving less so domestic charities - including Baby Lifeline - are suffering due to dwindling donations.

"We need at least £500,000 to continue its work into next year. We realise that with few resources we've already achieved a huge amount. However the demand is growing for the work that we are doing and our resources are desperate. We need finance to ensure our projects and training schemes can go on."

Mrs Ledger, who has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, hopes the future of her charity can be secured - so she can eventually hand over the reins to someone else.

"I've gone as far as I can go with this charity, and it needs someone new to take over so I know Baby Lifeline will carry on without me," she said.

"I've been doing this for 24 years and it will always be my 'baby', but I can't do this forever so I need to make sure it ends up in solid, safe hands."