World Prematurity Month 2023: Why I'm proud to change the law for parents like me

I am so incredibly proud to have shared my story and to have worked with so many others to bring about Neonatal Leave and Pay entitlements for parents of children born premature or sick.

Lost time 

When my first son, Samuel, was born at just 29 weeks I had no idea that the weeks – and sometimes months – parents spend visiting their sick and fragile baby in hospital was used up as maternity or paternity leave. I still remember, 12 years ago now, a doctor telling us to prepare for roughly 2 months in neonatal care, followed by a call with HR at work who told me that my maternity leave had started. I felt an overwhelming sense of loss and felt robbed of our time together during those neonatal days. Time we wouldn’t be able to get back even once we were home. I had lost so much time. The time I needed to recover from the trauma of NICU, the time to bond with my baby and the time for him to grow and become stronger before starting in a childcare setting. 

TV superstars 

I started a petition in June 2015 calling on the government to extend parental leave for mums like me who needed more time after premature birth. The petition resonated and quickly grew. Before I knew it, we had reached over 100,000 signatures and TV crews were knocking on the door to cover the story. Both my boys were excited to see themselves on the news, but most importantly the news stories helped us to shine a light on the realities of neonatal care and through the power of parent voices we were able to campaign for a real change.

Road to Parliament 

My local MP Steve Reed backed our campaign, introducing the Premature Birth Bill in 2016. The Bill didn’t progress, but it did lay the foundations for later change and despite the disappointment it galvanised our campaign further. 

I am proud of the parent-led campaign and the power of so many voices to bring about this change. David Linden MP has been a champion of neonatal parents in Parliament and, when the chance came, Stuart C McDonald MP chose to put forward the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill when his name came out top in the Private Members’ Bill ballot in 2022.

I had the privilege of being in parliament to hear MPs from all sides of the house speaking about our campaign and the work of The Smallest Things. I was bursting with pride and full of emotion. I know just how much this new legislation will mean to families who, like mine, find themselves in a world of uncertainty and fear as they care for a baby born premature or sick.

Catriona Ogilvy (front row, third from left), Stuart C McDonald MP (front row, centre), David Linden MP (front row, right) and trustee Sarah Miles (second row, centre)

The campaign continues… 

The moment the Bill received Royal Ascent was bittersweet. It was the culmination of years of campaigning and the thought that no other parent would experience those feelings of stolen time and the worry of juggling work at the same time as caring for a sick or tiny baby was overwhelming. But at the same time, I know that the new neonatal leave entitlements won’t come into effect until 2025 and that not all parents will have access to them. That’s why, alongside The Smallest Things Employer with Heart initiative, we continue to campaign for wide statutory entitlements and for the legislation to be brought into effect as soon as possible.  

Thanks to Catriona for sharing Samuel’s story.