Do you know that 60% of NICU admissions are with babies who are born at full term (37 weeks+)? 

I didn’t. 

And most people don’t. 

Amanda Griffith Atkins' journey through parenthood offers a poignant look into the world of raising a child with disability. Her honesty, compassion, and commitment to advocacy shine through, providing a source of community for parents facing similar challenges.

Amanda Griffith Atkins' journey through parenthood offers a poignant look into the world of raising a child with disability. Her honesty, compassion, and commitment to advocacy shine through, providing a source of community for parents facing similar challenges.

Services available to support parents who have been through NICU both nationally and regionally

It can be an overwhelming experience and having some solid information about what NICU can be like and how to prepare may help with some of that feeling of overwhelm and with normalising thoughts and feelings.

As a paediatric nurse my daily routine starts by walking onto a ward of poorly babies and children, with a smile on my face ready to start work. Never did I imagine I would be the one walking onto a ward crying for my poorly baby.

I had a very specific plan for my pregnancy and especially for my birth. These are a few things I wish I could go back and tell myself. 

Intrusive thoughts don’t just occur when you have had a baby, they can occur at any given time, with any person. However, for today, I am going to focus on when you have had a baby and the impact that intrusive thoughts can have on you. 

Mindfulness expert, Nicole debunks the biggest mindfulness myths

When you experience intense distress, trauma, your reaction is going to be one of fight, flight or freeze.

Imagine feeling as if your thoughts or actions have the power to kill the people you love the most, and living with the very real (in your own mind) responsibility that you are "keeping them alive" by doing these things.

My name is Eilidh and I'm a first time mum to Ruairidh, who is now 17 months old. I am a doctor who is currently on medical leave for PTSD related to my son's birth.

I remember sitting in the hospital and being told that my baby needed to come, my first reaction was not one of excitement about the idea of meeting the baby that I had been growing in my tummy for the last few months, but one of fear that he wouldn't survive.

We live through and experience a lot of loss when we are parents of a baby who has spent time in NICU.Life is not how you imagined it to be and it can feel like those firsts, those things that you wanted for you and your baby can be taken away from you. Those feelings are hard to cope with and at times we can feel guilty for feeling them.