"Neonatal Unit"

My baby was born very prematurely - 14 weeks early. We were transferred to the neonatal unit at CAH when she was just 5 weeks old, and we felt very welcome and comforted there. We spent 9 weeks there, and every one of those days we felt our baby was in caring hands. The nurses and health care assistants treated her and the other babies like they were their own, reading them stories, dressing them, and with one particular nurse even playing nursery rhymes to the babies at night time. These may seem insignificant, but when you have to leave your own baby every evening in someone else's hands, it helps to know they are being treated with care and dignity, which I always felt there. I rang during the night every night to check on how she was doing, and not once did I ever feel like a nuisance or anything. They were excellent at making you feel like the main carer, even though when your baby is in an incubator and being tube fed, there is very little you can actually do, but they were always fantastic at involving parents in as much as possible. Even though it was a distressing and traumatic experience, I have very fond memories of the wonderful staff and their care towards us there, and we will be eternally grateful for their support.