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Staff thanked for care of baby weighing no more than a bag of sugar.
- Mum, Laura Towle gave birth to baby girl, Penny who was born weighing no more than a bag of sugar
- Laura praised the care of maternity and neonatal staff. Describing the neonatal staff as "Angels"
- On World Prematurity Day the family wanted to highlight the care they have received.
A Nottingham Mum of a baby who weighed no more than a bag of sugar when born has praised Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) for the care given to both her and her newborn baby, Penny.
Penny was born at just 30 weeks gestation weighing 2lb 6oz via caesarean section after first time mum, Laura Towle, from Burton Joyce , suffered complications including high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
Prior to the birth, Laura had spent a total of nearly five weeks in hospital after being admitted at just under 26 weeks pregnant due to concerns around her high blood pressure and Penn y needing to be monitored due to her slow er than usual growth.
Full of praise for the teams who cared for her, Laura said: “ We received such great support from the fetal medicine team who we first saw before I was admitted and then the midwives who cared for me on the wards were just brilliant and I developed strong bonds with some of them as they were just there for me when I needed that support.”
Laura was particularly grateful that the midwives caring for her made sure that she had a private room, as they knew she was going to be in for monitoring for a while, she says : “ I t made a massive difference and was really good for my mental health, as it meant I wasn’t on a ward surrounded by babies, whi l st I was so worried about mine.”
The teams caring for Laura even made it possible for her to have a day out of the unit when it was clear she was getting ‘cabin fever’ which she says “made a real difference when it mattered most.”
Laura added: “The midwives really were amazing, I felt really listened to by them, especially when I had concerns around my rising blood pressure, they made sure I was taken to the birthing unit and fully monitored and given the 121 care I needed.”
It was at this point that the clinicians caring for Laura made the decision to deliver Penny , Laura said: “It all happened quite quickly, one minute I was telling my husband , Dean, that I was just going to the birthing unit to be monitored again due to my blood pressure and the next I was telling him to come in as they were going to deliver Penny!”
Once Penny was born she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) where Laura described the staff as “Angels” she said: “They have all been brilliant, they really are like angels, they come in and they are so calm and just make sure that everything and everyone is ok. The support workers are also really good and have really taken that time to listen to me and provide that support that is needed.”
After spending a month in NICU the family have recently been allowed to stay on the unit in the Swallow Suite to help them establish breast feeding for Penny, which will mean that she will then be allowed home.
On World Prematurity Day the family wanted to highlight the care they have received. Laura said: “Our overall experience has been really good and we have experienced really good care, especially from the midwifery teams and the teams caring for Penny.”
To help mark the day, Nottingham Hospitals Charity is holding a Little Lights Walk on Monday 17 November in the Old Market Square, Nottingham at 5pm to help raise awareness of premature birth. There will also be stalls in the main entrance of QMC on 17 November .
