‘Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the
most room in your heart.’
We think A A Milne was spot on with these words so we borrowed some of them to name our charity.
Every year, 37,000 babies in the UK are born early. That’s a lot of shocked parents thrown into the terrifying world of neonatal care - bleeping machines, incubators, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, blood gases, ‘cares’ and fear. And going home doesn’t mean it’s over. In a recent survey, three quarters of you told us your journey through neonatal care lasted long after you brought you baby home from the hospital. Over half of mothers experienced anxiety following discharge and nearly half of premature babies were re-admitted to hospital after going home from the neonatal unit. And because maternity leave begins on the day your baby is born, not the day you take them home, many parents find themselves being asked to return to work before they or their babies are ready. We don’t think that’s right. We believe parents need more time to recover from the trauma of life on the neonatal unit, bond with their precious babies and focus on any ongoing medical needs without the worry of work or pay. That’s why we continue to put pressure on the government to change parental leave laws.
“Nothing can quite prepare you for parenthood, but for parents of premature babies the planning and expectation of a new arrival is dramatically interrupted.”
The story so far…
In 2015 we stepped up our campaign to extend parental leave for families following premature birth, launching our #NotMatLeave petition and holding our World Prematurity Month event in Parliament to raise awareness.
In 2016 we launched our Preemie Proud Red Book Stickers, acting as a visual reminder to health professionals that a baby has been born early, their parents may need some additional support after NICU and to remember to correct their age.
In 2016 we marched to Parliament to present our change.org petition, calling on Government to extend parental leave for families following premature birth (we now over 350,000 signatures!)
In 2016 we met with then business Minister, Margot James MP. Our campaign and meeting with the Minister was instrumental in the government announcing their 2017 Mothers Day pledge to introduce new ACAS Guidelines on how employers could best support staff whose babies are admitted to neonatal care.
We won Mumsnet Best Campaigner of the Year Award in 2016 for our #NotMatLeave and neonatal leave campaign!
In 2017 we published our first ‘After NICU’ report highlighting the startling impact of NICU on maternal mental health, high rates of readmission to hospital and the long term impact of premature birth.
In February 2018 we launched the Employer with Heart charter, asking business not to wait for government to make this change, but to extend leave now for their staff whose babies are born premature.
Employers continue to sign up to our Employer with Heart charter, meaning tens of thousands of employees are now contractually entitled to extended leave if they have a premature baby. Check out our Employer with Heart Hall of Fame!
In 2018 we welcomed BBC Presenter, Rachel Burden, to be our special guest speaker celebrating World Prematurity Day at London’s City Hall, an event sponsored by Sony Music UK. At the busy event we thanked all of our Employers with Heart and encouraged many more to sign up too.
In 2018/19 we worked with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, hosting focus groups of parents, sharing first hand experiences to feed into their short, focused review into parental leave provision for families in neonatal care.
In April 2019 we supported the first ever Neonatal Mental Health Awareness Week.
In June 2019 The Smallest Things signed an open letter to the Government calling for the publication of their internal review into parental leave for parents of premature, sick and multiple babies needing neonatal care.
In July 2019 we welcomed the news that the Government would consult on plans to introduce a ‘Neonatal Leave’ for families in neonatal intensive care.
We worked with government officials at BEIS on the Neonatal Leave and Pay consultation (closed October 2019) to gather opinion and shape future policy
We continued to put pressure on the government to change the law so that all families of premature babies have the time they need to bond and recover from the trauma of NICU.
In early March 2020 we celebreated - after years of campaigning Neonatal Leave and Pay entitlements were announced in the Channellors Budget, but new legislation wasn’t planned until 2023.
We didn’t stop through the pandemic; in 2020 we gave evidence to the House of Commons Petitions Committee investigating the impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave.
Later that year we launched our Prem Aware Award, supporting schools to meet the educational needs of children born prematurely.
Despite lockdowns and pressures on schools, teachers continued to take up the free online PRISM training and our list of Prem Aware schools grew.
In 2021 we published our lastest ‘After NICU’ report highlighting once again shocking statistics about the long-lasting impact of having a preamture baby and life after neonatal care.
In November we held our first ever ‘virtual festival’ for World Prematurity Day, bringing together parents, professionals, politicians and employers who are all working to make the world a better place for children born prematurely and their families.