Publish date: 14 December 2023
A mum whose baby was born almost 12 weeks before her due date has praised hospital staff for creating a group that helps parents to support each other.
Charlotte Smith’s daughter, Florence, spent 70 days in hospital, including almost two months on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Leighton Hospital.
Now Charlotte is one of the mums and dads who visit Neonatal Clinic coffee mornings – set up by Mid Cheshire Hospitals Senior Staff Nurse Anne Nixon – where parents can meet and talk about their experiences.
The NICU recently held a Christmas event for the group, which included the children wearing festive clothes and receiving gifts from a special elf visitor. They also enjoyed a rendition of Hark the Herald Angel Sing by NICU Ward Manager Rachael Beagles and Ward Assistant Josia Arowosafe.
Charlotte said the sessions at the hospital had become a ‘safe place’ for her and other mums and dads who needed to talk to people who understood the challenges they had faced.
She said: “The NICU coffee mornings are special for lots of reasons. Babies are being born every minute, of every hour, of every day the world over. We're sold the perfect 2.4 pregnancy and birth from sex ed in school to Hollywood. It's what we're brought up with.
“So when your pregnancy or birth don't quite fit the 2.4 mould and your baby ends up in the NICU not everyone understands what you're going through - thankfully.
“It is a completely different experience that you're not prepared for. Although, I don't think you could ever be prepared for it. It's all-consuming. It becomes your life. You eat, sleep and breathe it all day, every day. You drive yourself mad with all of the ‘what ifs’.
“Thankfully, you're not alone. There are other parents around who are going through similar experiences as you and your baby. You end up on the journey together; supporting one another and sharing in the highs and the lows.”
Anne runs the Neonatal Clinic for Leighton Hospital’s NICU ward and sees babies who have been discharged and need to come back for blood tests, weight checks, eye clinics and more.
She set up the NICU coffee mornings in January and they are usually held on the first Friday of the month.
Anne has also involved other experts in the sessions, including a parent peer support worker and a member of the specialist mental health team.
Anne said: “I realised once the babies didn’t need to come back to the clinic, there was a need for support specifically for parents of preterm babies to meet up with other parents.
“It’s a chance for them to catch up and chat with other parents who have gone through similar experiences. The coffee hour now seems to be going from strength to strength.”
Florence was born at 28 weeks and two days, weighing 2lbs 5oz.
She faced complications including a condition called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) - a serious illness of the intestine that tends to affect more premature babies and causes tissues in the intestine to become inflamed and potentially cause a dangerous infection.
She was treated for NEC at Liverpool Women's Hospital and spent more than two weeks there.
Following the 70 days in hospital, Charlotte and Florence’s dad, Leon McCurdy, were allowed to take their baby girl home to Northwich.
The family are now preparing for their first Christmas with eight-and-a-half-month-old Florence.
Charlotte said she was thankful for the support – and the socialising – that the group had given them since they were discharged from the hospital.
She said: “These coffee mornings enable you to keep that connection, as well as meet other parents whose babies may be previous or current residents of the NICU.
“It's a safe place. A place to ask questions. A place to share fears, experiences and hopes and not be berated for ‘wrapping your baby up in cotton wool’.
“The coffee mornings offer a much needed time out with other adults. Our babies are amazing, but coffee, cake and adult conversation, instead of babble, keeps us sane.”
Pictured above are mum Charlotte Smith, baby Florence McCurdy and dad Leon McCurdy
Senior Staff Nurse Anne Nixon, top right, with Ward Manager Rachael Beagles as an elf, and the parents and children at the NICU Christmas Coffee Morning.
