The birth of a child is a wonderful experience for most parents, a time of excitement after all of the waiting. However, for some parents, health issues and premature births mean that their new born will need a little longer in hospital and more specialist care.
Baby Beat was founded in 1987 by a group of midwives and a consultant obstetrician to provide additional foetal monitoring equipment for the growing maternity unit at the old Royal Preston Infirmary. It is an NHS charity staffed by volunteers based at the Neo Natal Unit of Royal Preston Hospital. The charity raises funds to help buy new equipment and works alongside and compliments the NHS activities. As a result, Baby Beat provides exceptional care for premature and sick babies.
Being part of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity, Baby Beat is able fund specialist equipment, patient services and comforts, clinical care, local research, additional training and staff welfare projects so that the maternity and gynaecology teams can offer the best possible outcomes for babies and mums in the Central Lancashire and Chorley area. With Baby Beats support, NICU also continues to provide exceptional care for premature and sick babies and their families from across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Also, BabyBeat is a rock of support for parents who will obviously be worrying at this time in their child’s life. While the parents want to spend as much time with their new born as they can through this challenging time, Baby Beat operate quietly in the background. They ensure parents are fed while they tend to their child and deal with the ever-vexing issue of car parking.
Brethren of Preston Guild Lodge No 4408 have been particularly delighted to support this magnificent charity with a donation of £1,000. One of their members, Rick Crighton-Harris, spent a considerable amount of time in the neo natal unit with his wife when their son was born very premature. His experience determined that the lodge brethren should support Baby Beat this year.
Master of the lodge, David Parker Jnr went along with Rick to present the cheque to a volunteer at the Baby Beat charity, Debbie Burns. To find out more about Baby Beat, 