Warwickshire nurse launches premature baby clothes business

Artemis was born 10 weeks early

A neo-natal nurse has launched a company that provides specialist clothing for premature babies.

Beth Morris, 53, from Warwickshire, set up SuperDinky after 13 years working with babies born early and their parents.

The tiny baby clothes enable medical staff to access wires, tubes and monitors, she said.

Ms Morris added she also wanted to create something "joyful" for parents.

She set up the company with business partner Lorna Tallowin, and said it was "really tricky" for parents of pre-term babies in a clinical setting.

"People don't really know if it's something you want to celebrate and dress your baby in something joyous - which you do," she said.

Baby Artemis was born 10 weeks early after her mother, Jess, suffered complications during pregnancy.

Her father Matt, said that at that time his daughter could "literally fit in the palm of my hand".

"She went into intensive care and from there it was constant stabilisation or heat," he explained.

Lorna Tallowin (left) runs SuperDinky with Beth Morris

But finding clothes that fitted around breathing and feeding tubes was not easy.

"We met Beth and she actually introduce SuperDinky to us, because it was just starting out at this point," Artemis's father said.

"You could actually pick [her] up and change her without having to do wire Jenga and move everything around.

"It seems like a really small thing but it meant a lot to us."

Premature baby charity Bliss says parents can find it helpful to celebrate the milestones their baby reaches in hospital.

"They might look a little bit different on a neonatal unit, but they can be celebrated all the same," said campaigns manager Josie Anderson.

These can include a baby coming off oxygen for the first time or wearing their own clothes.

Along with a forum for parents to talk about their experiences, SuperDinky also enables parents to give back to the neo-natal community, by buying garments that can be given to parents whose premature baby has just been born.

"It's a real random act of kindness," added Ms Morris.