Premature birth inspires mum to write children's book

A mother has written a book to help parents explain neonatal care to their children after her own daughter was born prematurely and spent the first month of her life in intensive care.

Lihini Ekanayake's daughter, her first child, was born at the Royal Derby Hospital eight weeks early in 2018, weighing just 3.2lbs (1.44kg).

A Little Too Soon is intended to help parents explain the situation to siblings or the child themselves when they are older, which Ekanayake, a mental health doctor at the NHS, said could be "really confusing for them".

The idea started out as a poem, which the 39-year-old from Woodville in Derbyshire, began writing from her observations while in hospital with her daughter.

The premature birth was due to Lihini's increased blood pressure, which was a result of her pregnancy.

"It started as a poem and then I thought to myself, this should be a book, and it can be used as a free resource to help parents through what can be a really tough time," she said.

"I noticed when I saw families arrive at the unit that it could be really difficult for siblings of children in intensive care to understand what's happening.

"They'd ask questions like, 'Why isn't mummy coming home? Why isn't my brother or sister coming home?'

"I also remember when a couple of my nieces came to visit me and my daughter in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and they got scared, you know, the incubators, the wires. So, I hope this book can help in some way."

The book is written from the perspective of an older sibling of a baby that is in intensive care, and attempts to explain in simple terms what happens in the NICU.

Lihini has printed 50 copies herself and gifted them to the Royal Derby Hospital, so families can use them with their children.

"I've had some lovely messages from parents, one of which told me they've read it to their daughter [who has a younger sibling in NICU] who loved the book," she said.

"I think it's important that older siblings don't feel left out during this time, they might feel that mum and dad are giving all of their attention to the little one.

"That's also one of the things I want the book to hopefully achieve, because there really aren't any resources like this out there, aimed at children."

Eight years on from her daughter being born, Lihini says she is "thriving" and she has since had another child who was born without any complications.

"It was a very different experience, like day and night for me," she said.

"When my younger child was born, they had so many questions and I was trying to explain it so I thought if my children have these questions then others must have them too."

The book is also on sale on shopping website Etsy, with all funds being donated to Friends of the Baby Unit charity at the Royal Derby.

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