Chairs deliver comfort for new mums

A wish to provide comfortable breastfeeding chairs for new mums, whose babies are being cared for at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units, has come true.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s charity, The Health Tree Foundation (HTF), launched an appeal to raise £22,000 to purchase  the special chairs.  

NICU ward managers Sarah Judd (Scunthorpe) and Emma Spicer (Grimsby) asked the charity to help last year as they wanted to provide a better experience for new mums. 

Sarah said: “I want to say a huge thank you to all our wonderful supporters who have helped to fund the new chairs for our mums on the unit. To be able to have a nice comfortable chair for a parent to sit on when feeding their baby will help with the development and bonding.”

Local fundraisers got behind the appeal and raised the money needed to buy 10 chairs for Scunthorpe and 12 for Grimsby.

Linda Mallett, advanced neonatal nurse practioner at Grimsby, said: “The chairs are lovely and comfortable and the parents love them. They recline back so babies can have some skin-on-skin time with their mums. They’re brilliant.”

New mum Jess Craggy, whose baby is staying on NICU, said: “The chairs are so much more comfortable, you feel more supported. They look and feel a lot better than the chairs which were here previously.”

Thanks go to Help for Health, Sportive HQ, Scunthorpe Hospital League of Friends, The Clay Family, Eileen Boucher, Keir Homes, Grimsby Twist and Flip Gymnastics, Nikita Kennedy and The Scunthorpe Lions Club who fundraised for the new breastfeeding chairs.

If you would like to more information about fundraising for your local hospital charity  please contact: hello@healthtreefoundation.org.uk or telephone: 03033 304514