Miracle Babies Foundation

There are 48 hours to go until our Quadruple Giving Day is Live! Your support in 48 hours makes all the difference to premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them. Wondering where all the money from donations goes? Our NurtureProgram Resources and Services are provided free to all families who are challenged by prematurity or sickness. Our comprehensive NurtureProgram consists of; 💠NurtureLine: 24-hour family support line with access to a trained support team. 💠Nurture Time: Facilitated by qualified Miracle Babies Foundation volunteers, these support sessions operate within Australian NICU's and online providing vital, comforting emotional support. 💠NurtureGroup: Out-of-hospital play and support groups for families and carers who have experienced the birth of a premature or sick newborn. Health professionals such as speech pathologists, physiotherapists, family support nurses, social workers and occupational therapists may also attend NurtureGroups to support families. 💠NurtureProgram Resources: We supply a range of resources for families with a premature or sick baby, to positively change the experience for families during what can be an emotional and traumatic time. Our resources are developed by parents themselves who have had a premature or sick baby and work toward supporting, educating and empowering families from admission, discharge, bereavement and the transition to home. Create your team with your work colleagues! or make a pre-pledge today: https://lnkd.in/gBYJ5jx

World Human Milk Donation Day is today, 19th of May 2024. A day created to raise awareness and promote the importance of donating human milk to milk banks. Breast milk is beneficial to all babies, but for premature and sick newborns, it provides vitally important health benefits and acts like a medicine that only a mother’s milk can provide. Donated breast milk is essential when a mother’s own milk is not available for these babies to help them grow and prevent health complications, including a type of gut infection called necrotising enterocolitis that can be fatal. Lifeblood’s milk service operates nationally and currently supplies donated breast milk to 35 hospitals in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, and ACT. The service currently has around 300 donors in the Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane areas and supplies 5500 litres of milk every year, with demand this year expected to jump to 6000 litres. “Donated breast milk is liquid gold for premature or very sick and small babies and is the best source of nutrition when a mother’s own milk is not available.” Last month, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood generously provided the Miracle Babies Head office team a tour of their facility located in Alexandria, NSW. It was a wonderful experience understanding how the milk is processed and learning about all they do for premature and sick newborns. Would you be able to help Lifeblood with Human Milk? Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is calling for mothers in the Brisbane area with excess breast milk to help restock the freezers for the state’s premature and low birth-weight babies. “We’re particularly looking for mothers who live within the wider Brisbane area and have more than three litres of frozen or expressed milk that is less than 10 weeks old, and who pass our eligibility criteria, to get in touch.” - Lifeblood Milk Service Manager Chris Sulfaro Information about becoming a donor can be found at: https://lnkd.in/gD7AgaE

The release of the Federal Budget this week missed an opportunity to improve the lives of vulnerable families across Australia with a premature or sick baby. Miracle Babies Foundation continue to advocate for families to call on the Australian Government to provide additional Paid Parental Leave entitlements during the critical care period when a baby born premature or critically ill spends a significant time in hospital. Australian Government employees are entitled to Paid premature birth leave which is available from the date of birth to what would have been 37 weeks gestation. We call on the Australian Government to make this available for all families across Australia. “This addition to the Paid Parental Leave scheme to better support families during their premature or sick baby’s hospital stay should be available for everyone. It should not matter where you work – all families deserve the best start to life" - Kylie Pussell, CEO and CoFounder said. To share your voice please visit https://lnkd.in/g29Ecu7F

The team at the Salesforce building are busy preparing for the Tower Stairclimb next week, where they climb the building’s 53 levels to raise funds and awareness for Miracle Babies Foundation. Participating in the Stairclimb is no easy feat; to get behind their event and support fundraising efforts, you can make a donation here: https://lnkd.in/gfvt2Kf5

Today is NEC Awareness Day. Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) is an intestinal disease that can affect infants in their first weeks and months of life. “Necrotizing” means the process of tissue death and “enterocolitis” means inflammation of the small intestine or colon. Babies who are born prematurely or with a medical condition are most at risk of NEC, but sometimes full-term babies also develop NEC. Every year around the world, NEC affects thousands of babies. “From pain to power,” recognises the profound heartache and trauma that follow a NEC diagnosis, and the remarkable strength it takes to channel anguish into helping other families. Miracle Babies truly appreciates the efforts of NICU nurses and NEC research services that aim to prevent NEC and show all their support to affected babies and their families. If you or someone you know has a baby diagnosed with NEC, we have a page on our Nurture E Information Hub that may help with additional information and resources: https://lnkd.in/gFP4fAeA

We are sharing the stories of Australia's miracles this Miracle Month of May✨ These families have allowed us to share their stories during an important month, highlighting the important work of Miracle Babies Foundation and its vital support for families of premature and sick newborns. Today we are sharing Shaya's story of her twins, Jack and Eloise who were both born at 28 weeks weighing 1098 and 1206 grams. "One evening while sitting on the couch, I noticed a sudden gush of water. We hurried to the hospital, where after a few hours, we were informed that there were no signs of labour or babies coming and advised to monitor the situation at home. The following day I began feeling increasingly unwell. By evening, I experienced bleeding and abdominal pain, prompting me to rush back to the hospital as I knew something was not right. The doctors admitted me into the maternal ward, hoping they'd be able to stop labour and keep the babies in for as long as possible. However, Jack and Eloise had different plans. They decided it was time to enter the world. At just 28 weeks, Jack and Eloise were born. They were very tiny and had to stay in a special place called NICU to get better. In the NICU, Jack and Eloise had lots of tubes and machines around them. They had to fight hard because they were so small. One of the toughest parts was not being able to hold Eloise for the first time until 8 days after she was born, and Jack had to wait 12 days. Now, Jack and Eloise are almost 3 and are thriving. Both are running around, talking, and meeting all milestones for their actual age. Jack's brain bleed fully resolved which was remarkable. He now has hydrocephalus as a result from the bleed however this is monitored regularly and does not currently affect him in any way. Their time in the NICU and Special Care is a special memory that taught them how strong they can be." Thank you, Shaya, for sharing your miracle story 💕 We will share more stories on our Instagram and Facebook to highlight our little miracles during Miracle Month of May! Click here to read Shaya's full story or share your own: https://lnkd.in/gkVY9VKK

Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day! 🌍 Let’s celebrate the importance of accessibility and inclusion 💕 In a world where so much happens online, it's crucial to remember that not everyone can access the digital world with such ease. We are making some changes to our Miracle Babies Foundation website! We are in the process of adding @Recite Me Australia assistive tools to our website which will make a huge difference in ensuring every visitor will be able to customise their digital experience according to their unique needs. Stay tuned! #GAAD #GlobalAccessibilityAwarenessDay #Inclusion

Last week our CEO and CoFounder, Kylie Pussell was privileged to have a tour of the Neonatal Unit at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité University Hospital) In Berlin, Germany.   “I am always so in awe of the passionate and caring staff that work in neonatal units and care for premature and sick babies and their families across the world. I have been privileged to visit many neonatal units globally and the Charite campus at Berlin was another highlight. It was an impressive unit and I especially loved the regular music therapy for babies.” Kylie said   Special thanks to Silke Mader, EFCNI - European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants, Professor Christoph Buhrer, @Dr Laura Reimer and Dr Christof Dame for sharing their knowledge and insight into babies and families care in the neonatal unit in Berlin.

Today is Kangaroo Care Awareness Day which also marks the start of our annual KANGAROO-A-THON, where we encourage NICU and SCN units around Australia to participate in a challenge that tallies the kangaroo-cuddle hours had between baby and their families for two weeks. The Kangaroo-a-thon will run from the 15th to 29th of May. We are making things easier this year! To participate in the Kangaroo-a-thon, please first check if your hospital has registered by clicking here: https://lnkd.in/gG-eN_Rr. You will also find the 'instructions for parents' in the link above which are a few steps for you to join. Share your Kangaroo Care photos on social media! Join us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and share your Kangaroo Cuddle photos. Be sure to tag @miraclebabies and use these hashtags: #miraclebabies #kangaroocare #kangaroocuddle #nicu #specialcare #premmie

There is 1 week to go until our 24-Hour Quadruple Giving Day! This year it will be held on Tuesday 21 May 2024. Write it down on your calendars so you don't forget! Quadruple Giving Day is one of our largest fundraising events for the year, and your support will make a huge impact. Donations made on Quadruple Giving Day will help to expand the reach of our peer services and vital resources for the remainder of the year, supporting more of the 48,000 families with a premature or sick newborn. Get a team together and challenge 10 of your friends and family to donate $10 each. Your team has just instantly raised $400 which is going to help support 6 families throughout their hospital journey. You can create your team today or make a pre-pledge donation before the big day. Click here to make your team or to donate: