This Valentine’s Day, Neonatal nursing staff in the Ulster Hospital have gone above and beyond spreading love and warmth to babies and parents in the Neonatal Unit. In a heart-warming gesture, nursing staff presented parents with a special gift package featuring cards adorned with their baby’s footprints that have been transformed into adorable love bugs, along with a delicate rose, relaxing face-mask, chocolate treats and a comforting heart-shaped candle.
These gifts are a precious memento, capturing their baby’s journey and the care they have received in the unit.
Neonatal staff understand the emotional journey that families with new-born babies in the Neonatal Unit undergo. With this in mind, they initiated the thoughtful gesture to bring a little extra love and joy to the families spending Valentine’s Day in the hospital.
Explaining the difference this can make to parents, Staff Nurse Nikita Harron said, “Being in the Neonatal Unit can be very difficult, it is a long journey for some. We have some babies that can be in the unit for a few days or weeks and some who are here long-term. So when it comes to milestones like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, we try to make it special for the parents.
“Given that mums have gone through such a long birthing process, having little things like this can pick parents up and make them feel good and they can celebrate their baby. When the parents see their little gifts, they have that feeling of “this is the first present from my baby”.
“The cards created by one of the staff in the unit with the little footprints made into a love bug is so sweet. It is the first footprint of their baby and parents can get very sentimental when they see this. It’s about celebration and making it a special time for the parents.”
This gesture highlights the dedication and compassion of the Neonatal Nursing staff, who continuously go the extra mile to ensure the well-being and happiness of the babies and their families is at the heart of everything they do.
