Reclining chairs help with kangaroo cuddles at Airedale

Parents and their newborn babies on the neonatal unit at Airedale General Hospital in West Yorkshire are enjoying three new reclining chairs to help them get optimum skin-to-skin contact, thanks to a generous donation from the Friends of Airedale charity. The chairs have been proven to help promote kangaroo care and help parents feel as comfortable and confident as possible when holding their little ones.

Rachel Asher from Earby has been using the chairs while on the unit with her baby Riley, who was born at 26 weeks weighing 1.1kg and is now 10 weeks old and weighs 2.7kg.

Rachel says: "He came far too early; he wasn't due until 16 March and when he was born he was the smallest baby on the unit. He's strong though and has been lifting his head since he was a couple of weeks old. I had him on my chest at three weeks old and he pushed up to have a good look. I've used the chairs and dad has too, they're very comfy."

Neonatal Nurse at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust Kelly Rae says: "Parents being able to cuddle their babies and have lots of skin-to-skin time is so important for both them and their baby, for lots of different reasons. The chairs we used to have before were very hard and upright which were quite uncomfortable, especially for a mum who has just given birth.

"The new recliner chairs mean that premature and poorly babies can have much longer cuddles with their parents. So many families are going to benefit from these chairs in the future. We are very grateful to the Friends of Airedale for their very generous donation."

Eileen Proud, President of the Friends of Airedale, says: "It is amazing how babies blossom on the unit. We've already bought quite a few of these chairs for the children's ward so parents can stay in comfort next to their child and we're very happy to provide them for parents and their babies on the neonatal unit too."