Burnley couple take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks in aid of paternity rights charity People for Partners

Paul and Lauren Morton have raised more than £500 for campaign materials like t-shirts, leaflets and posters for their charity, People For Partners.

The group calls for dads to have longer than six weeks’ paternity leave to help care for their families while their partners recover from emergency C-sections.

Paul said: “Overall, we found the experience rewarding, both personally and from a campaign perspective, as we were aware of how much we had fundraised ahead of the event, which will help us share our message.

"We also found the peaks at times challenging, especially when injuries occurred but we persevered and managed to complete them in a time of 11 hours and 35 minutes.”

The couple took on the challenge with a mix of charity trustees and family members, with Paul adding: “We were able to have some meaningful conversations with fellow walkers about the charity, which helped us in our aim to spread the word.”

The pair set up People For Partners following Lauren’s emergency caesarean last year, which left her so weak she was unable to even pick up her children for more than a month.

She says the isolation of looking after children while recovering from major surgery after Paul returned to work was “debilitating” and made her “feel really low”.

Their story resonated with people, with many reaching out to make a donation towards their work or share their own experiences of life after a C-section.

"The support from donations and people sharing their stories means the world. Having that support validates the need for this change and really encourages us to speak to more people and to really push harder for this change. We have had an amazing response from the general public so far, and have been able to meet with our local MP regarding our charity, which he is in support of. When setting up our charity in November 2022 we were worried that the public would not share our passion for this issue, however, the support we have received so far has been fantastic.”

To offer support, please send a message via the People For Partners Facebook page or [email protected]