When I worked on the Premature Baby Unit at what then was Crumpsall Hospital, we had to wash premature babies when they had come to our unit and were put in incubators ,they came straight from the delivery room and were so tiny and fragile they were not washed there but came straight to the unit .
When stabilised we could attend to them .
If they did not make it we also washed them,like tiny perfect dolls ,then they were placed in pretty little “ Angel Pockets “, tiny hand knitted sachets a bit like the old triangular sweetie bags .We made some at our church .
A knitted square ,placed like a diamond shape, the two side pieces folded over to make a little triangular pocket, the tiny baby placed inside and the top folded over ,then tied with ribbon .They were so lovely and pretty .
Of a little comfort to the family.
Those babies were lovingly cared for and respected , we wept over them and also the lovely man who had to take them from the ward often had tears in his eyes.
We could hold them in one hand , it was very sad.
Very premature babies did not survive so well all those years ago.
Now it is astonishing how many very premature babies do .
.At least at that hospital the little tiny souls were loved, meticulously monitored and cared for .
We were busy but gentle stroking was done often as we could not always take them out of the incubator, but they needed human contact and voices,babies in the womb hear their mother speaking so mothers came to the unit when well enough and spoke to their babies .
It is a bereavement though, and needs kindness and understanding .
Years ago women were not encouraged to talk about it, how very cruel that was.
My sincere sympathy to anyone who has suffered such a loss .
I lost a non identical twin in what was diagnosed as a miscarriage , to be admitted the next day for a D& C ,this was a Locum’s diagnosis but my GP had phoned from his holiday to enquire if any special cases needed his attention .I was mentioned so he drove from the coast( this was in Belgium)
and came to see me, he did not agree so told me to take no more of the tablets which were to prepare me for the procedure next day,took a urine sample and that went to the hospital lab and I was still pregnant .
A safe delivery six months later and after a while - about a year later I was told I had lost a non identical twin.( two placentas)
Having a healthy full term baby did soften the loss and at three months the twin was not viable of course but I become somewhat bewildered when I try to sort it out in my mind , I have never fully addressed it.
No prayers said ,no grieving at the time, it is still incomplete to me.
I think about it from time to time but there is nothing I can do , but it does make me sad and bewildered .
I had had a dreadful time with morning noon and night sickness ,probably dehydrated which it is now known cause miscarriages .
Viktoria.
