LNWH Charity and the Neonatal Unit (NNU) at Northwick Park Hospital joined forces to celebrate World Prematurity Day this November and raise vital funds for our youngest patients and their families.

The annual World Prematurity Day is an international, global movement that raises awareness of the journeys and challenges preterm infants and their families face. To commemorate the special day, NNU held a ‘Hawaiian Alumni Homecoming’ event on Friday 15^th November, inviting former, adorable mini patients, their mummies and daddies and extended family members to join the fun.

NNU staff provided the party-goers with an afternoon of entertainment that included Hawaiian dancing and a short comical performance, before hearing testimonials from parents whose babies were cared for at Northwick Park Hospital. Libby Jones, proud mother to twins Matilda and Dylan, paid tribute to the care they had received while on NNU:

“These nurses and doctors gave our babies exceptional love, and exceptional care. And they gave us the confidence to care for them ourselves. Today, Dylan and Tilly are 14 months old, and in the 91st percentile for height and weight. And we owe it all to all of you.”

LNWH Charity set up a JustGiving page in recognition of this special day and to raise funds for the benefit of future neonatal patients and their families. The initial £2,000 target was quickly smashed, with over £2,600 raised by 21 November. Matron Gene Taylor expressed her gratitude at the generosity of those people supporting NNU:

"Please accept my heartfelt thanks for all the kind donations to the Neonatal Unit’s Just Giving page. We wanted to purchase an extra reclining chair to enable parents to have vital 'skin-to-skin' experiences with their babies and to facilitate breast feeding. The incredibly generous donations we have received have made this possible. Everyone who has supported the Neonatal Unit has truly made a difference."

It’s not too late to support our premature babies as their JustGiving page won’t close till 31st December 2019