The health and well-being of our children is an important issue for our community. In this article, we are happy to support and showcase these organisations that give their time and commitment to helping infants and small-children across the Wirral.
For Newborns:
- Wirral Baby Baskets was set up in 2019 as part of the Feeding Birkenhead Supporting Wirral network of projects. Their aim is to provide a Moses basket full of baby essentials to expectant families who might be struggling to get together what they need for a new baby. Referrals are made via midwives, health professionals or established organisations already working with families.
- The Neonatal Unit at Arrowe Park Hospital is a designated Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – one of only two in Cheshire and Merseyside. This means they are able to care for some of the most poorly babies. Our Neonatal Unit currently has 24 cots which enable the team to provide specialised care for babies from around 22 weeks of pregnancy.
- Movement and Bloom hosts both post and pre-natal fitness, as well as their Buggy Baby Walks which rovide an uplifting opportunity for you and the babies to make new friends, provide a stimulating and healthy experience for your newborns and burn off any excess fat, tighten and tone and improve core stability and strength.
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Elsie’s Moon was set up after the loss of the founders’ daughter who decided to use their grief to offer support to parents when pregnancy doesn’t go to plan. As part of their support, they offer the following packages:
- LITTLE BUTTERFLY PACKS – Our early loss packs will be initially supported by Arrowe Park, Countess of Chester and private scan facilities, they are given to those wishing to take one away after the loss of their baby.
- ELSIE’S ESSENTIALS PACKS – Our comfort packs will be provided provisionally in our local hospitals and hospices. They will be for the first stay, including comfort ideas such as sanitary products, toothbrush & paste, shower items & much more. They will be provided for when pregnancy doesn’t follow the plan, this includes visits to hospital, extra monitoring, neo natal stays, and baby loss.
- VIRTUAL HUG PACKS – Our virtual hug packages have been developed during lockdown, giving us a way to send all our love to families we cannot reach out to hug. They are packed full of love, with self care items and the biggest of virtual hugs! If you know a family when their pregnancy hasn’t followed the plan, please do get in touch.
- ICON is a programme that aims at raising awareness about infant crying and how mothers can cope. One of the biggest risk to infants is what is referred to as ‘shake-a-baby’ syndrome where a stressed parent accidentally shakes the infant too hard to get them to stop crying.
New Families:
These organisations offer a range of courses and sessions for new parents, including activities and educational play time for their babies:
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Koala North West exists to provide children and their families with tailored practical and emotional support that improves wellbeing, reduces isolation and supports both children and care-givers to thrive. These are some of the examples of services they have to offer:
- Breastfeeding Support – Koala North West knows the importance of getting as much information about becoming a parent before the baby arrives, click the link to discover more about the services we can offer.
- Family Support – They provide trained Family Support Mentors who can visit you once a week in your own home, offering flexible support that is tailored to your family’s needs. All of our volunteers are parents themselves and have an understanding of the challenges family life can bring.
- Parent Infant Mental Health Service – Their ‘Parent Infant Mental Health Service’ known as PIMHS, works with parents expecting a baby, who have recently given birth or their child is under the age of two. They focus on supporting those early relationships between you and your baby, with an understanding that this can be difficult, particularly if you are experiencing emotional or mental health problems.
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Women’s Enterprise Breakthrough (WEB) aims to provide a high quality service which includes:
- The Reading Womb – Funded by the Cheshire & Merseyside Women & Children’s Services Partnership, “The Reading Womb” is a 12 week programme, supporting women who are 12 weeks or more pregnant and struggling with their mental health.
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BEE Wirral is renowned for their baby groups and infant massage led by Lisa Heath of Relaxed Bay-Bees.
- Sensory Bees is a 5-week course that demonstrates how to provide a calming and educational play time for your baby using sensory toys and equipment. Suitable for babies from birth to 2 years, this course allows your baby to explore their senses in a fascinating environment.
- Infant Massage is a 5-week course that provides a relaxing environment to bond with your baby. Learn how to give your baby an effective massage that can help with sleep problems, colic, teething, tummy aches, and more. This course is only £30 total and you are fully supported throughout the course by our experienced Infant Massage instructor, Lisa Heath.
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Tots Play offers a varied programme of activity classes, parties and play resources for babies and toddlers, designed to provide not only age appropriate learning experiences for your child, but also exciting, interactive play sessions for you both.
- Their Baby Development course is especially designed for babies from birth to 6 months, and aims to support you both through this crucial time, providing simple ideas and techniques for loving play times that will help you connect, calm and have fun together while aiding your baby’s development.
- The classes are also a great way to get out and meet other parents in your area with babies of a similar age. Many of our previous course attendees have continued to meet up long after their course ended.
- Baby Ballet‘s programme and syllabus has been carefully designed by leading preschool dance and ballet experts. Our classes provide the opportunity for babies and young children to learn to dance and develop key life skills in a healthy, sociable, caring and safe environment. babyballet is so much more than just a dance class and we can’t wait to welcome you to our magical world.
Claire House
In talking about organisations that take care of young children and infants, we have to mention Claire House. Claire House Children’s Hospice helps seriously and terminally ill children live life to the full by creating wonderful experiences and bringing back a sense of normality to family life. The whole team at Claire House Children’s Hospice work together to help children and young people live their lives to the fullest, helping them create wonderful memories with their friends and family and bring back a sense of normality to their lives however short that time may be. Claire House can also offer support to the wider family, including siblings and grandparents:
- Respite care for full-time carers including: emergency, planned and home respite care.
- From music therapy and hydrotherapy through to reiki and Indian head massage, they offer a wide range of alternative and complementary therapies for children and young people and their families
- Most importantly, they have end of life care which is the highest priority at Claire House. They ensure that all the needs of the child are met to make opportunities to create final memories and experiences for families. They have two dedicated ‘Butterfly bedrooms’ where a child can stay as an alternative to a funeral home after they have died. The care team are available to provide emotional and practical support to help families in these early days of bereavement and in arranging the funeral.
This care helps children like Corey and Parker. Corey was born with Cerebral Palsy and his younger brother, Parker, was born unresponsive and not breathing. Both brothers require round the clock care but their visits to Claire House over the past three years have allowed their parents a well-deserved rest as full-time carers and to spend time with their daughters. You can read more of their story here.
Please, support all these wonderful organisations that look out for our young across the Wirral and donate where you can to help make a difference. To all these organisations, and more, from us at CAW, thank you.
