My babies, Tessa and Thiago, were born at 30+6 weeks with emergency C-section, on 25 June 2021, 9 weeks earlier than expected. They were tiny and fragile, but absolutely perfect.

After a traumatic delivery, they were taken into NICU at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where they spent the first 37 days of their life surrounded by wires and cables, doctors and nurses, beeps and sounds. What my partner and I went through was the most difficult and dramatic time of our lives. It was so scary. 

But thanks to SSNAP and all the amazing people at the JR we were able to overcome all our fears and worries, and be next to our babies. We learned how to look after them, how to nurture them and give them love. We saw them growing day by day, saw them thriving and finally becoming ready to come home. We will be eternally grateful for all the support and love we and our babies received during those 37 days. 

This is my way of saying 'Thank you' to everything SSNAP has done for us and do for all the premature and sick babies, and their families.

In the UK, 1 in 10 babies need specialist care at birth. SSNAP supports sick & premature babies and their families in the Newborn Care Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital. Imagine your newborn baby needing specialist care at birth. Instead of those very special days getting to know your baby as a family, you’re catapulted into an unfamiliar world of incubators, wires, medical tests and interventions. While babies have specialist treatment, they provide emotional and practical support to help parents through the trauma & upheaval. SSNAP is there to help families cope, and provide state-of-the-art medical equipment and nursing expertise that could save babies lives.