Parents forced to share small comforts
Parents of premature and sick newborn babies are relying on community kindness to provide extra equipment and comfort at Palmerston North Hospital’s neonatal unit.
New mum Kimberley Tait has spent three weeks visiting son Levi in the unit.
He was born six weeks early, weighing in at just over 1.7 kilograms.
Sustained by expressed breast milk and getting plenty of ‘‘kangaroo cuddle’’ skin-on-skin time, he has grown to more than 2.2kg.
His mum is looking forward to taking him home as soon as he has learned to breastfeed.
Neonatal unit charge nurse Melissa Woodd said although staff tried to make the unit as homely and comfortable as they could, it was sometimes a challenge for mums to claim their turn with the equipment they needed.
The 17-cot unit only has seven recliner chairs and only three breast pumps to share around the women, who are all encouraged to express breast milk. ‘‘It means we don’t have a recliner chair for every family, and have to move them around.
‘‘It might seem silly, but families don’t like giving up ‘their’ chair. Everyone needs a chair.’’
Woodd said the unit and its patients already benefited a great deal from people in the community who made quilts, woollen blankets and premature clothes, and set families up with items they could keep.
The latest call for help is being co-ordinated by Countdown supermarkets, whose customers have already given $12.8 million since 2007.
People can contribute at Countdown checkouts, by buying a raffle ticket in-store, or when shopping online.