Hundreds of premature and seriously ill babies who spent their first days, weeks or months in neonatal intensive care have been reunited with the doctors and nurses who looked after them, in a special celebration of how far they have come.
The event brought together former neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients and their families, giving medical staff the opportunity to see how the babies they once cared for have grown and developed.
For neonatologist Dr Jaclyn Levan, the reunion showed the importance of her team’s work.
“We take care of the tiniest patients and they can be very sick at times”, said Dr Levan. “To reconnect with those parents and be able to see how well that baby is doing outside of the NICU is really why we’re doing this”.
Among the families attending the celebration was Laura Riddell, a mother of four whose triplets spent more than 20 days in neonatal intensive care after they were born.
Mum Laura has attended the annual reunion for four years and explained that being surrounded by other families who have experienced the challenges of having a baby in intensive care provides an important sense of belonging.
“When you’re in the NICU sometimes you do feel alone and so seeing all of these people coming together that have walked that walk with you, it’s just nice to have that community and that support”, Laura, a mum, said.
For Laura, the occasion is a chance to celebrate the progress of babies who needed additional medical support at the beginning of their lives, and to encourage parents whose babies are still receiving treatment.
“Just seeing how much these babies thrive, seeing how my babies have thrived, just also being here to talk to other parents who are new in this journey”, mum Laura said.
The reunion was equally significant for the medical professionals who had cared for the children during some of the most vulnerable periods of their lives.
Dr Levan explained that babies’ extended time in intensive care often leads to close relationships between hospital staff and their families.
“It’s great for the staff to be able to reconnect with those parents. NICU babies are in the NICU sometimes for a week, even up to several months of age. And so we really develop a strong bond with those families”, Dr Levan said.
Those relationships can continue to mean a great deal to parents long after their children have been discharged from hospital.
“They are truly invested in the health and well-being of our babies”, mum Laura said.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “It is wonderful to see these children thriving after spending their earliest days in neonatal intensive care, and to see the joy they bring to their families and the medical professionals who cared for them”.
“These reunions are a powerful reminder of the incredible dedication of neonatal doctors and nurses, who work tirelessly to give premature and seriously ill babies the best possible start in life”.
