Buy a premature baby a book this World Book Day

Ross and I have two great loves in our lives, Leo and reading. Reading came first but Leo is better. That's high praise for our baby boy born 14 weeks early last year.

When Leo was born we were encouraged to read to him. The consultants assured us that he would hear our voices, hear language, hear sounds and that would make his brain fire up and make his little neurons work hard in building all the pathways that he needed to put to work to thrive and develop.

We believed reading to Leo helped him - he heard our voices and could connect with him during cuddle time and bond when cuddle time was off the cards for medical reasons.

One thing that struck me was how few other parents did this. There were also no books in the ward for the babies and the shop in the concourse did not sell anything suitable. If you were a first-time parent, you were unlikely to have children's books to your disposal.

I also wonder whether having siblings read to their baby brothers or sisters would help them to feel involved in their care.

We have thought about how we can best support the work of the Neonatal Unit at Ninewells Hospital as a small token of gratitude after they have taken (and continue to take) such great care of Leo. Leo spent the first three weeks of his life in London and then a further 8 weeks in Ninewells after he was transferred home to Dundee.

I wanted to do something meaningful that would help the babies and their families improve their wellbeing in some way. You can feel quite helpless sometimes around all the machines and highly trained staff.

We have decided to fundraise and buy books. I have recently become an Usborne Organiser and Usborne books will add 10% of free books and Ross and I will also add 10% to whatever is raised. With World Book Day on 1st March, this seems like a good time to draw attention to our message about how important books are to families.

I will let those who want to contribute either choose a book from the catalogue or make a donation if they don't mind which books are bought. This is the page to make a donation. The catalogue is here.

If infection control means that each baby has to have their own book then we'll buy as many story collections as we can and the baby can take them home. The unit will help us make sure that they can make the most of these books while they do their important work.

Some articles on reading in neonatal units.

Nursing Times

Scottish Book Trust

Literacy Trust

I do hope you will consider supporting us in building a resource of books for the Neonatal Unit in Ninewells Hospital. It is a small, but practical, way to support the babies and their families.