This is Esther when she was 8 days old and 8 days into her 59 day stay in NICU at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent. She was not there entirely alone, she had her twin brother, William, in the incubator beside her and David and I were there as much time as we could be.

But in the dead of night the people that they relied on the most were the dedicated team of doctors and specialist nurses who cared for them. Who changed their nappies, read their vital signs and stats, ensured that they had their feeds on time, carried out blood tests, transfusions, checked and adjusted their oxygen levels, administered treatments and medications, the work went on and on, all for a baby that you were never certain would live or die.

It has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. Neonatal nurses work long hours for little remuneration and often little thanks. They are dealing with parents in heightened emotional states and can often be on the receiving end of highly charged outbursts. Neonatal nurses work hard around the clock to preserve the lives of the tiniest babies who need their care to make it through the day.

During Esther and William’s stay in NICU and SCBU the nurses there became my friends. I used to spend 12 hours at least at the hospital every day. Only close family were allowed to visit the unit through the earliest days of Esther and William’s life these wonderful nurses were really the only people that I saw, they were the ones I turned to, cried with and celebrated each tiny little milestone with. They understood what I was going through and could guide me through the choppy seas of having a newborn baby, two newborn babies, in intensive care.

The neonatal nurses in Ashford, Kent taught me how to be a Mummy to my tiny 2lb babies. The taught me how to wash their tissue paper skin, how to clean their tiny little mouths with breastmilk, how to change a nappy that was no bigger than the palm of my hand. They taught me how to comfort hold Esther and William when they were having difficult procedures performed on them. They advised me on breastfeeding and helped me get ready to take my babies home.

Neonatal nurses have such a wealth of knowledge. They are caring and committed and they do not have an easy job. They work together with other nurses and medical staff as part of a dedicated team, each person playing their very specific role to protect and preserve these tiny infant lives.

Neonatal nurses assist in and perform life saving procedures which must be so rewarding but they also have to watch tiny babies die and support their parents through the most dificult of times. How can you not get emotionally involved?

I know of nurses in our NICU who are now godparents to some of the children they cared for. They are chosen for such personal roles because of the active parts they play in the beginning of these tiny lives.

Neonatal nurses are so dedicated and passionate about their work, how else could they make the decisions that they do and make themselves come into work each day to face who knows what on their ward.

It takes a very special person and a lot of training to be a nurse in NICU. It takes a completely different set of skills to be a nurse in SCBU. Both are equally importnat n ensuring that these tiny babeis are able to go home with their parents at the end of their stay.

When Esther and William were first in intensive care they were given one to one care. They were so tiny and so premature that they needed constant medical attention, screening and care. It could not have been done with one nurse between them. At that earlies time they needed a nurse each to ensure that they survived the day.
As their condition improved they were able to share one nurse as their cares were increasingly undertaken by David and I so the nurse was ony doing the medical things. Also the babies needed less professional attention as they began to grow stronger, little by little, day by day.

There was never more than one nurse to three babies, even in SCBU as we were about to be discharged. The care Esther and William received was exceptional and I will forever be grateful for the passionate expetise and dedication of the NICU/SCBU team at William Harvey in Ashford. I can never ever thank the enough for all that they have done.

But I can do this. I can try to protect their jobs at the same time as asking our Minister for Health to not make cuts to Neonatal Nursing jobs, to not put at risk the tiniest of lives, to not risk the lives of babies who cannot stand up for themselves.

How can babies stand a chance without this vital life line, this support that Neonatal nurses provide?

I know that there is a huge chance that Esther and William would not be here today without the wonderful care of the NICU in Ashford, Kent.

Please please join with me today, please please follow this link and ask our Health Minister to save the lives of babies born too sick, too small and too soon.

Do not put tiny babies at risk.

There must be another way!