Premature babies often have to spend some time in special care units attached to maternity hospitals. This can be a very frightening experience for new parents, particularly when your tiny baby is in an incubator surrounded with medical equipment and beeping machines. Staff are there to support you as well as look after your baby and there are still ways you can be involved in your baby's care.
You can find more information on the Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow Neonatal page.
Tommy's is an organisation who fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, and provide pregnancy health information to parents. They believe it is unacceptable that one in four women lose a baby during pregnancy and birth. They want every parent to have the best possible pregnancy outcomes and can take home happy, healthy babies.
Bliss was founded in 1979 by a group of concerned parents who discovered that no hospital had all the equipment nor the trained staff it needed to safely care for premature and sick babies.
Determined to do something, these volunteers formed a charity to give vulnerable babies the care they deserve. Almost 40 years later Bliss has grown into the leading UK charity for the 95,000 babies born needing neonatal care every year.
What? Why? Children in HospitalThe What? Why? Charity prepares parents, carers and children for a positive hospital experience by developing and sharing videos.
Premature babies and babies with breathing or digestive problems might need helping with their feeding. This video shows parenteral nutrition, nasogastric tube feeding and the importance of breast milk for babies in the neonatal unit. Lucy, a premature baby, is given milk through her nasogastric tube by her dad. Francesca's mum and dad talk about how she was born premature, the worries they had and how well she is doing now. Babies in the neonatal unit receive feeding support from a team of consultants, nurses, pharmacists and breastfeeding support.