It's the little things that make the biggest difference

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) have begun a new partnership with Little Things, a non-profit making charity set up by Leighanne Hedges, who creates bespoke clothing for premature babies who have sadly passed away.

Through her work as a funeral arranger, Leighanne became increasingly aware of the challenges faced by bereaved parents when it came to finding clothes that were small enough to dress their tiny baby.

Leighanne has recently provided NICU with a variety of items that means that, in those sad circumstances when a premature baby dies, there is a selection of clothes for parents to choose from. All the clothes, lovingly hand-made by Leighanne, are made of soft fabrics, with easy fastenings making it easy to dress the baby with the least disturbance.

Such items will complement NICU’s Bereavement Service, which embraces each family with individuality and empathy.

Jo Kirby, Family Support Sister on NICU said: “On NICU we are always striving to enhance the care and support we offer to families of infants who sadly do not make it. Being able to offer parents a choice of a new and individual outfit for their baby at this time is very important, particularly for such tiny infants whose parents can struggle to find something suitable and sympathetic to dress them in.”

Leighanne said: “I am trying to give parents back some control. When your baby dies you can lose that control. This is a way of giving some back to the parents.”

Leighanne is available to make outfits for babies of any size to meet the wishes of parents and can do this in time for their funeral.

If anyone would like to make a donation to Little Things they can do so by PayPal to – littlethingsangelclothes@live.co.uk or to contact Leighanne visit www.facebook.com/LittleThingsangelclothes or email littlethingsangelclothes@live.co.uk