In early 2020 I worked on an exciting photography project, called Faces of Prematurity; a collection of photographs of children born prematurely holding baby photos from their time in hospital.
In addition to my photography business, I also run a support website for parents of premature babies (miraclebabies.uk) which I started when my twin boys were born suddenly at just 23 weeks gestation and we spent 114 days visiting the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit. My son, Henry, is now a thriving, healthy four year old but unfortunately his twin brother, Archie, passed away the day after he was born. (A range of photos from our hospital journey can be found here.)
This project followed on from discussions with staff at the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit who were looking for inspirational photos to display along the corridor on the unit. One thing that helped us get through this difficult time was reading the patient stories on the walls of the unit. I believe seeing this array of before and after pictures will give hope to other parents in a similar position. It is also hoped that the pictures will help to raise awareness of prematurity and the amazing work carried out by neonatal units and charities.
Ranging from gestations of just 23 weeks, the stories of the amazing miracle babies I’ve had the pleasure to meet are truly inspiring. Most of the babies have had issues with breathing at some stage and gaining weight with many also battling infections. Some left hospital while still requiring home oxygen. I decided to compile the photos alongside the individual stories into a book so they can be read by parents while their babies are in hospital and hopefully inspire them like we were inspired by the stories we read. You can read the book online or purchase using the link below.
I hope you enjoy reading about all the little superheroes I’ve met on this journey, individual stories are written by each child’s parents with only minor editing by myself. Here is the full collection of photos presented in order of gestational age at birth. If you see a purple butterfly on the picture frame it indicates that they are a surviving twin.
