Every day, countless families face the reality of having a premature or sick baby. In the UK, the rate of such births is rising, with 1 in every 7 babies requiring neonatal care.

When Naomi and I found out we were having twins it was the most amazing news. We had planned to start a family and move into a new home and everything happened quickly and was going (suspiciously) according to plan.

Then at an early scan we discovered we were having identical twin girls and this was a high-risk pregnancy with many potential complications down the road. Ok, we thought, we can manage through this. So we then embarked on a journey of many scans and tests, almost every week, and despite this rollercoaster all was going well.

But at what we thought was going to be a routine checkup, Naomi wasn't allowed to go home. At 29 weeks pregnant she was hospitalised with the early warning signs of pre-eclampsia. She was a real superstar and managed to hang on for a further 4 weeks, despite gradually becoming very ill herself.

Our twin daughters were eventually born at just over 33 weeks, and they required neo-natal specialist care for the following 7 weeks. Today they are thriving, busy studying, bossing around their younger brother and costing us a fortune!

But back during that time, the hardest we have probably ever known as family, the support and guidance we received from Bliss was invaluable.

So it's great to be able to give something back. Bliss is at the forefront of supporting babies that are born premature or sick - and their families, tirelessly working to improve outcomes and enhance the quality of life for these vulnerable infants. But they can't continue their work without support from the public.

So as I prepare to run the London Marathon on April 26, I am reaching out with a request for donations. My goal is to raise as much as I can for Bliss and it will really spur me on to get round those 42.2km. Your generous contributions will directly impact those families who need it most. Together, we can help ensure that every baby has a fighting chance at life.