A mum has shared a video of the first time she got to hold her premature baby, in the hope that it will provide comfort to other parents of preemies.
The mum wipes away tears while she strokes her baby’s back, as she is so relieved to be able to touch her newborn four days after giving birth.
“It was the best feeling in the world to finally be able to hold him in my arms,” she wrote on the Love What Matters Facebook page on 13 November.
“It’s scary to think one in 10 babies is born premature. I just want other parents who are going through this to know it’s hard, it’s scary, but you’re stronger than you think you are, your baby is a fighter and you’re not alone.”
Baby Grayson was born weighing just 1lb 14 (860g) when his mum was only 26 weeks and three days pregnant. He spent 84 days in the NICU.
“They have no idea why I had him early, I’m a fairly healthy person, never missed taking my prenatal vitamins, completely cut out caffeine and exercised kind of regularly,” the mum explained.
“For the first four days I wasn’t able to hold him, I was barley able to touch him.
“I just wanted a normal pregnancy, a normal birth, I wanted to be able to hold my baby right away, feed him and snuggle him.”
Grayson is now almost six months old and his mum says he is “doing absolutely amazing”.
The video was shared on Facebook ahead of World Prematurity Day on Friday 17 November.
According to Premature baby charity Bliss, 15 million babies are born early every year.