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When Parents Cause Harm
A large part of being a neonatal nurse is learning to quickly recognise and react appropriately to child protection concerns. In many cases it’s not because we think that the parents may harm their...
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Mental Health Matters – Week Three
Apologies for the lack of a Mental Health Matters guest spot last Thursday, ironically (or not) my own mental health got in the way of blogging but hopefully it should be business as usual (at least...
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A Letter to Bereaved Parents
I’m going to begin this letter with one of the most overused phrases of all time and tell you that I’m sorry because I really, truly am. I know all the apologies in the world can’t bring your baby back...
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Nurses Don’t Run (Or Do They?)
From the first week of my nursing training, during about the second or third lecture it was impressed upon me and my fellow students that nurses do not run. We were always told that there was no...
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The Last Story
The Northern One and I take it in turns most nights to read Squidge a bedtime story. For a little boy who’s only just one he has a huge number of books which are spilling out of his own special...
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NICU and Numbers
If you visit any neonatal unit in the country, by the side of each incubator or cot there will be an electronic monitor. The first thing you’d probably notice is that the monitors are almost constantly...
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BritMums Live 2015 Keynote Speeches – For Them
I am not the world’s most confident person and it’s safe to say that public speaking is not one of my strengths. Standing up in front of people, be it friends, colleagues or complete strangers has the...
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If We Were Having Coffee – Paying It Forward
Dear Leigh A few months ago a blogger wrote to me when I was at the lowest point in my life since Squidge was born. She’d read a post entitled ‘If We Were Having Coffee’ and wanted to write her own...
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Making Memories to Last a Lifetime
As neonatal nurses we deal with death on a regular basis. We don’t see it every day or even every week but it is something we are always aware of. Each and every time a baby dies our hushed voices,...
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It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This
She stands beside the incubator, her eyes fixed on her tiny little boy. I’ve offered her a chair but she knows that if she sits down she won’t be able to keep her eyes open, so exhausted is she from...
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Their Arms Ache But Are Not Empty
The twins lie side by side on the pillow, their little faces turned towards each other in the same way that I imagine they shared the nine months together in the womb. One twin reaches out, his tiny...
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Being Brave Enough to Try Again
There are lots of things about my job that make me happy. I love caring for the babies, supporting the families, being placed in a position of trust and feeling as though I’m really making a difference...
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Bliss Baby Report 2015: hanging in the balance
I was very pleased to be asked to by Bliss, the UK charity for sick and premature babies, to read and comment on their latest report prior to its press release on Monday 19.10.2015 The report, titled...
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Bliss Baby Report 2015: hanging in the balance – MumsNet Guest Post
Neonatal units aren’t meeting the standards required of them. That is the underlying message of the new report from Bliss, the UK charity for sick and premature babies. The findings aren’t unexpected....
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What Were You Doing on New Year’s Eve?
On New Year’s Eve, when the majority of the country was happily celebrating the arrival of another year with champagne and parties I sat beside a broken, grieving mother cradling her dying baby. As...
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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – World Prematurity Day
Last night, although I don’t know why, Squidge struggled to fall asleep. I heard him crying and went upstairs to his bedroom to find him standing up in his cot, holding his threadbare teddy comforter,...
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We Are One Profession
We sit quietly, the doctor and I. Waiting. The only sounds are the soft hiss of the ventilator and the muffled sobs of a broken mother, cradling her baby son in her arms. I’m so glad this doctor is...
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The Twelve Days of NICU-mas
I’ve not found it particularly easy to get into the Christmas spirit this year. With everything that’s happened over the past six months I’ve struggled to find the joy or motivation that the festive...
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New Job, New Start
A few months ago I realised that I was finding my current job very difficult. The combination of a stressful environment, a doctor husband who works horrible shifts and a toddler got completely on top...
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