33 x 2 bonding squares for local hospitals made by Weavers Workshop
One square is placed with a premature baby and another is worn against the mum’s skin, then the squares are swapped round every 12 hours or every time mum visits.
Many Neonatal Units are now using them. They help with the bonding of a premature baby in an incubator and the baby’s mum. The baby can smell mum’s scent even when she isn’t there or wasn’t able to get him out of his incubator, and then when she goes home she can still smell the baby’s scent on the square, which is a big comfort.
Not only this, but many mums find that it really helps with expressing breast milk. Keeping the scent of the baby close by triggers the hormones needed to produce and express milk, which is very important as breastfeeding can be difficult for mothers with premature babies.