If you have experienced the birth of a baby requiring special or intensive care at birth, you will know how daunting and traumatic an experience it can be. Please remember that help is at hand - TinyLife is here to provide you with a range of support services designed to make the journey through this difficult time a little bit easier.
No doubt your normal family life has been hugely disrupted – we understand that this can be a difficult time for all of you - mums, dads, siblings and the extended family.
Here at TinyLife we want to help you deal with the sense of isolation and helplessness you may be feeling. We can provide you with appropriate and timely support, which may be of particular benefit to you mums at this time when you may be vulnerable to postnatal depression.
By offering these services to you, we want to try and prevent an already difficult situation becoming worse.
TinyLife can help you in a number ways. We provide:
- Breast Pump Loan Service
- Hospital and Home-Based Volunteer Support
- Parent Support Groups
- Resource/Information Service
For more information on TinyLife’s Services or Practical Advice please click on the links on this page.
Hospital & Home Support
If you have experienced the birth of a premature, ill or disabled baby it is likely that your little one will have to spend weeks or even months in a neonatal hospital unit, which can be a stressful and anxious time for you. Our support service will allow you to juggle the demands of work, caring for older children and other commitments.
Group Support
As a parent of a premature, ill or disabled baby, sometimes it’s difficult to know who to turn to for help and advice and who will understand what you are going through. You may find it helpful to chat to other parents who have been through a similar situation, to share your experiences and learn from each other.
Breast Pump Loan Service
As a new mum, you want to give your little one the best start in life. Research has shown that breast milk can significantly help the development of babies in neonatal units. TinyLife can lend a hand through our Breast Pump Loan Service. Providing breast milk can help you to bond with your baby in these difficult early stages.
Resource Library
As a parent of a premature, ill or disabled baby you no doubt have plenty of questions and are keen to get as much information as possible. Why not drop in and make use of our comprehensive resource library? The library, located in our offices in Carryduff, is updated regularly and comprises of books, videos and information leaflets.
Other Services
As well as providing you with a range of family support services, TinyLife is also here to help you in other ways. We do our best to help families experiencing financial difficulties by assisting them in identifying and applying for funding which can be used to help with travel costs and purchasing equipment.
Advice for new Parents
At TinyLife we do our best to offer as much practical and emotional support as we can. Bringing your new baby home from hospital can be a stressful and difficult time. However, it is also a time of joy and excitement. At TinyLife we always do our best to help families enjoy and celebrate the arrival of their new addition(s).
Dads need support too
Having a premature, ill or disabled baby brings huge challenges to a family. It can be an overwhelming and stressful experience for both mums & dads – but sometimes dads are in danger of being overlooked, because most of the focus will be on mum who has just given birth and the baby who is in need of special care.
Family Stories
Although every birth is unique there is nothing more reassuring than knowing that someone else has gone through a similar experience to you. This section details real life stories from families who have experienced the birth of a premature baby. They describe their emotions and give advice on the things that worked for them.
FAQ's
Our Family Support Team have put together some of the questions which come up time and again for people experiencing what you are going through. As with so many other difficult experiences in life, it is, we believe, always a comfort to know that others have been there before you and have found ways of coping.
Other Supporting Organisations
Need help or advice in relation to a specific area? In this section you’ll find a number of organisations providing a range of specialist support and information services to parents.
