Bonding hearts appeal for newborn babies

Grace said the bonding hearts had helped her feel "much closer" to her premature twins

Staff at a neonatal unit have appealed for people to sew more "bonding hearts" so mothers can share scents with their premature babies to help them bond.

Rotherham Hospital nurses have used scent-sharing for a while to bring babies and parents closer together, but said supplies of the cotton hearts were running low.

Staff nurse Sam Jones said the hearts nurtured a "vital connection" and scent was the "most developed sense of a newborn baby".

Grace, a mother of five-week-old twins born at the hospital 10 weeks premature, said the hearts made it "feel like [the twins] are with me even when they're not".

Grace's twins have both been tube-fed and lived in incubators, although one of them, Heidi, has just been moved to a cot.

Neonatal nurse Sam Jones said scent-sharing between a mother and baby was "vital".

"Callum, the twins' dad, swaps his hearts with the babies too, because it's vital for dads as well," she said.

"The fabric hearts help nurture that vital connection by absorbing mother and baby scents together."

Hugo is one of the babies at Rotherham's neonatal unit given cotton hearts that have been worn close to his parents' skin to help him get used to their scent

Ms Jones said the scent also helped produce the hormone oxytocin, or "the love hormone", which stimulates milk production.

Ward manager Claire Ellis-Wood said the unit now only had a small supply of the hearts, often made by parents and grandparents.

"We're running really short," she said.

"We used to give mums the baby's vest or babygrow to put down their bra or really close to the skin."

She said the hearts were given to both parents and could be taken home for siblings or pets, then kept as a keepsake for the child as they got older.

Ms Ellis-Wood said the response to previous appeals had been "phenomenal", with "all sorts of community groups getting together to make them".

She said parents had even posted photos of their babies and children as old as seven, who still had their cotton hearts.

It was a "big social interaction" and a great thing for people to get involved in, she said, adding: "We want to thank people so so much."

The 8in (20cm) hearts can be made from any cotton fabric, including old sheets or duvet covers

Ms Ellis-Wood said the hearts must be made from cotton, not fleece, crocheted or padded - and old sheets or duvet covers were ideal.

But the hearts must not have exposed seams, which fray and could get in babies' mouths.

All the hearts would be washed at the hospital so pre-washing was not necessary, she said, and a template was available online.

The hearts can be dropped off at the hospital's charity hub in the main entrance, where they will be collected and delivered to the unit.

Meanwhile, Grace said she was looking forward to going home once the twins are strong enough to eat and breathe unaided.

She now has a room in the hospital so she can see the babies every day and feed them regularly, but still keeps the hearts close to her chest every night which makes the twins feel "much closer".

"It's been really hard," she said.

"But the hearts have helped".

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