Every year approximately 10% of all babies are born premature (before 37 weeks gestation) in New Zealand. That’s one premature baby born every 90 minutes.  There are also full-term babies whose condition or illness requires admission to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after they are born.  In all, over 5,000 babies have a difficult to start life in New Zealand each year.

With premature birth, while sometimes there is a history, or a medical condition which may lead to premature birth, more often than not, a mother goes into premature labour with no warning.  With full term babies, parents may know their baby is going to be born with a complication requiring admission to a NICU.  In other circumstances, the complication becomes apparent once the baby is born.

There are five “Level 3” NICUs in New Zealand, in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.  These NICUs admit and provide specialist care for the most premature and sickest babies.

Depending on the parents location in New Zealand and the current capacity of the five NICUs in New Zealand, parents may be flown at any time of the day or night to a different city from which they reside.  They may be flown while in labour with little or no clean clothing nor time to organise accommodation.

All of these parents are thrust into a terrifying world where their much loved tiny (sick) baby, who they have just met, is surrounded by machines, beeps, alarms, wires, needles, doctors and nurses.  The parents often feel helpless.  While the birth of your baby is usually a joyous event, this is a traumatic and very stressful time and depending on the condition of the baby, the parents may be on this journey for a few days, a few weeks or many months.

Aside from the trauma and emotional stress of seeing their baby so sick, there are all the associated financial and logistical challenges, for example leave from employment, childcare for other children and often simply finding a place to sleep and the time to make a meal.

When families are dislocated from their homes and have to spend long hours in a foreign environment with little or no pastoral support (we know the clinical support is first class) this inevitably makes a very stressful journey.

Once a baby is well enough they are transferred to a “Level 2” Special Care Baby Unit, usually in the area in which the parents reside.

Thanks to the highly-talented and dedicated neonatal doctors and nurses, the youngest babies to survive premature birth in New Zealand have been born at 24 weeks gestation.  We aim to provide support to the families of premature and sick full-term babies as they make their journey through neonatal intensive care, the transition home, and onwards.

The Neonatal Trust is committed to "Making a difficult start to life that little bit easier"

The Neonatal Trust has three objectives:
1.    The primary focus for the Trust is supporting parents by helping them in whatever way we can to get through what is usually a very traumatic time. Neonatal Trust volunteers, the vast majority of whom have had babies in one of the country's five NICUs, work to reduce the stress typically felt by families with premature or ill babies. They visit parents in the NICUs to assess individual needs, which can range from wanting access to information, to practical, financial or emotional help.
 
2.    The second aim of the Trust is to assist the NICUs in practical ways such as purchasing or contributing to the cost of equipment and funding for staff to attend neonatal educational seminars or other professional development.
3.    The third aim of the Trust is to aid neonatal-related medical research.

​With every order placed SNUGBAGS will donate to the Neonatal Trust. To shop and automatically support The Trust please click here >>