My daughter Olivia was born at 33 weeks gestation weighing a very small 3lb7 and we knew it was going to be a tough journey ahead. Before she was delivered, we were transfered to the nearest hospital with a NICU cot avaliable, which was two hours from home. After a very traumatic c-section, a few days on the recovery unit due to blood transfusions, I was then moved to a normal post labour bay. The hardest thing about this whole experience for me was having to be in a bay with women who all had their newborns next to them, knowing I couldn't even hold my baby let alone have her next to me. Olivias lungs were under developed and she needed the cpap machine as well as getting an infection and needing lumber puncher and a longline cannula both invasive procedures. We were finally all transfered back to our local hospital and were home 3 weeks later with a newborn who was 4lb with a nasogastric tube (we were both trained how to use it but still so daunting) The whole experience was so hard for us as parents and feel bliss' help would have helped so much. The unknown and risks that come with having a premature or sick baby means you need as much support as possible. 

I want to help bliss by raising as much money as I possibly can over the year and join the cause. This is a charity which should have so much more recognition for their amazing work. 

I’ve chosen to fundraise for Bliss because there are more than 100,000 babies born needing neonatal care every year and I want to make a difference to them. Every donation that’s made to this page brings Bliss closer to ensuring that every baby born premature or sick in the UK has the best chance of survival and quality of life. Bliss does that by supporting parents to care for their babies, campaigning for better neonatal care and enabling life-changing research.