14th September 2016
The Smallest Things is delighted to launch their new “Preemie Proud” Red Book initiative; a series of stickers that families can use to personalise their baby’s red book.
The stickers will act as a gentle reminder that this mum with a premature baby has been through NICU and may need some more support. These stickers provide a prompt to use a baby’s corrected age on their growth chat; and can form the basis of an initial conversation about the lasting needs following neonatal intensive care.
Every year 80,000 babies are born requiring specialist neonatal care services in the UK. Their parents face a turbulent journey, often physically and emotionally exhausting and for many it is a journey that will have a lasting impact. 40% of mothers who spend time in NICU experience post-natal depression, (compared to 5-10% of mothers who deliver with no complications at full term); and that more than half of mothers report symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder once their baby is home.
Health visitors, with their specific training, are in a unique position to support the families of babies born prematurely. And the new “Preemie Proud” stickers to personalise the Red Book will help health visitors identify those mums and their babies.
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