Lia’s Wings and The NICU Space partner to ensure no family has to navigate the NICU journey alone

This World Prematurity Day, Lia’s Wings and The NICU Space are partnering to offer families with premature babies more support.

Through the new partnership, every new family supported by Lia’s Wings will be offered six months of free membership to The NICU Space. This private, expert-led community gives parents a place to connect with other NICU families, ask questions, share experiences and access trusted support, both during their baby's hospital stay and beyond.

Connecting with other parents who understand

Having a baby in neonatal care can be an overwhelming and isolating experience, particularly for families who need to transfer between hospitals. Just as parents begin to settle into a routine and build relationships with those around them, another move can mean starting again. And the challenges don't necessarily end when a baby comes home; many families need continued support as they adjust to life beyond neonatal care.

Bex, mum to Evan, knows this experience all too well. Supported by Lia’s Wings, her family spent time across four different hospitals, navigating the uncertainty and emotional challenges that come with each move.

“The NICU is lonely, and being transferred is lonelier still. Most parents stay in one place, able to make connections. We were in four hospitals, and every move meant starting from scratch. New unit, new routines, new faces, nobody who knew us. “The NICU Space became a guiding light for me. A community that gets it, where I can ask the questions nobody else understands and meet people who've been through something similar, including other Lia's Wings parents.”

Bex’s experience shows the impact of peer support. Just knowing someone else understands without having to explain can make all the difference.

Charlotte, Chief Operating Officer at Lia’s Wings, says:

“So many of our families tell us how much it means to speak to another parent who has been through something similar. We want every family we support to have a safe place to land, a community where they feel understood by people who really get what they've been through. “Lia's Wings does everything we can to make sure families feel cared for and supported throughout their journey. It was really important to us that we found a partner who shared those same values and would offer families that same sense of care and understanding as they move beyond NICU. The NICU Space does exactly that. It means families have somewhere to turn, people to connect with and a community that will continue to walk alongside them, long after their journey back to the UK with us.”

We do all we can to support our families, but we need to give them a safe place to land, a community where they can continue to navigate their life after the NICU with people who understand. So many of our families ask to speak to another family who has been through something similar to them, and it makes such a huge difference to their perspective. They handle everything with more hope and confidence.

Supporting families beyond NICU

Bringing a baby closer to home is just one part of a family’s journey. We do all we can to support families throughout their journey and beyond, but we want families to have somewhere to turn to as they navigate life beyond neonatal care.

Lia’s Wings is the only UK charity dedicated to bringing premature babies closer to home from anywhere in the world, while The NICU Space provides a private, expert-led community for parents at every stage of their neonatal journey.

The partnership grew from conversations with families themselves. Some Lia’s Wings families were already part of The NICU Space and spoke so positively about the support they had found there. It was Bex who first brought us together, and it quickly became clear that we shared the same ambition: to make sure no parent feels they have to navigate this experience alone.

By working together, we can offer families a wider network of support, a safe place to land and a community of people who understand, helping that support continue long after their baby comes home.

For Dr Frankie Harrison, founder of Miracle Moon and The NICU Space, the partnership is also personal, having experienced neonatal care herself. Frankie says:

“When I had my baby at 31 weeks, seven years ago, I couldn't find the support I needed, so we created it. “The NICU Space is a place of connection, support, validation, and understanding, and the access to community has been incredible for so many people, including myself. “We're so happy to partner with Lia’s Wings to be able to support their families in such a tricky time.”

We're incredibly proud to make this partnership possible thanks to funding from National Lottery Good Causes, as part of our work to provide specialist support for mothers of premature babies. Thank you to everyone who plays the National Lottery and helps make this support possible.