So the petition closed last night. 3,880 people signed it and Thank You to all of you who did. It reached number 48 in over 8,200 petitions, and was 12th in over 1,000 Health related petitions, which shows how much we mind about our Mums.

I wish I'd been able to tell more people that it was there for the signing - if I had I know there would have been even more signatures. I look forward to hearing the government's reply to it. (A response to any petition with over 200 signatories is promised.)

It is not the end though. The objective wasn't to get thousands of signatures, but to save lives, and the work will go on.

I have to mention some fellow bloggers. These ladies have really helped by condensing this website into one succinct post, and have written more eloquently than I could have hoped for. In chronological order, thank you to:

BreastfeedingMum, LittleLegends, Manicmama, IngeniousRose and 21st Century Mummy

Thank you also to everyone who has emailed their friends, posted in a forum or mentioned this website on their own site or over a coffee.

Please, don't stop helping to save a mother's life. We can do it, one at a time.

The petition has a month left to run before it is closed.

It's amazing that so many have already signed it, but there must be so many more people who would sign it, if only they knew about it. It would be equally amazing if everyone, rather than just sign it, told ten or more of their friends and family what and where it is and asked them to sign as well.

So many people have thanked me for my efforts, but it's not me - I only signed once - it's all of you who read, remember and refer as well as adding your name. Thank you.

I had a really good evening tonight – I met up with an old friend for a drink and some good food in my favourite local pub. I haven't seen her in a couple of years and it was wonderful to be able to pick up where we'd left off and catch up with news of mutual friends.

That aside, she told me some really encouraging news. I sent out an email when I started the petition asking friends and family to sign and forward, and after a few days I wasn't recognising names being added to the list. What I always hoped was that the email would keep on going.

Anyhow, Annabel forwards it to a colleague, who subsequently receives it from two other totally unconnected people. Result!

Then also, a little while ago, there was an email chain from me, to a friend of Jessica's, on to a friend, and another, on to her father (who had already signed) and back to my parents.

That's the success of the campaign, not that I can find x people to sign, but that people are shocked and surprised enough by hearing of a woman's death to want to do something to help.

I read or heard somewhere that everyone in the country is linked to everyone else in the country by a chain of acquaintance of up to twelve people. If that's true, it must be worth taking a moment to email your contacts about a petition to help prevent another mother/wife/daughter/friend's death. Bang, crash, wail.

Emily just fell out of her bed.

So; the beds are made and the press release is finished. Thanks to a very kind man, David Standard, who's Head of Media Relations at Irwin Mitchell, my weekend draft was honed and finalised, and is now on its way out to journalists with a maternity/healthcare interest.

It's been a really encouraging day for the campaign, I've received another slew of messages of support, and one very kind offer of a donation which I've put on hold for the time being. Mental note to self: investigate charitable status and set up a bank account.

As I told the individual concerned, what Jessica's trust really needs is wider awareness and more signatures. Thanks to the Internet, running costs are still minuscule, even if man hours spent is escalating. It probably won't stay that way, so must watch own pocket.

For now I really need you to sign and let all of your friends and contacts know about the website and petition so that they can sign too.

What I hope is that people learn to look out for the tell-tale signs of childbed fever themselves, before it is too late, in the same way that parents are told to look for the signs of meningitis in their babies.

There is no need for anyone to die of this horrific and easily treatable illness. If I can help to save lives by telling Jessica's story, then our very dark cloud may have a silver lining after all.

In a brief moment of silence, I can sit at my computer. My children, Harry and Emily, are devouring post-party goodies, so I can make a start with some work, except I'm blogging instead.

Jessica's trust has been up for about four weeks so far, as has the petition - so I want to take stock. Thousands of site visits, tens of thousands of page impressions and even more 'hits' on the site, but what does that mean? Currently 2,279 e-signatures on the petition. It's a lot, and I'm really pleased, but its not enough!

The number of signatures could be a measure of awareness achieved, but it's not because many, many more people are 'meaning to sign' but haven't yet, even though they know about Jessica and they know about childbed fever. So come on - sign! Then it may be a measure of awareness after all.

Oh, and don't forget that you need to click the link in the email you'll receive from No.10, or your signature won't be added.

Finally, please help spread the word. It does help, and it is saving lives. More on that another time.