Jackson's journey
From the moment my waters broke at 30 weeks, I knew my life would be thrown into unknown, scary, and unpredictable times. After a few days, Jackson made his early arrival by emergency c-section. He weighed just 3lb 4oz (1.47kg).
My emotions were crazy over the next nine weeks and five days in the neonatal unit in Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCHT).
Shock and surprise
Nobody plans for a premature baby, and you don’t expect your maternity leave to be spent in hospital watching your baby grow in an incubator, hoping everything will be alright.
The day I received the email that my employers were going to extend my enhanced maternity pay was an absolute blessing! The love and support I felt from this news was amazing. My family and I didn’t have to deal with the added pressure of financial insecurity.
Without that extra paid leave, me and my little family would not have been able to enjoy any time together. This pay helped us have precious time together as a family, rather than having to struggle immediately after returning home from hospital on only my husband’s wage.
“We were delighted to support Lara with extra paid leave following the premature birth of her baby boy. We know this extra support was very much appreciated by Lara, who was able to spend time in neonatal care without the extra worry of ‘using up’ her precious maternity leave. We hope more employers sign up to become an Employer with Heart too.”
Jackson (above) is now one year old and we are so grateful for him. He is such a scrumptious little fighter!
We’ll always be grateful that my workplace is a Smallest Things Employer with Heart. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
With thanks to Lara for sharing Jackson’s story.