Vicky Foxcroft MP for Lewisham Deptford & Shadow Minister for Disabled People
To mark Neonatal Mental Health Awareness Week in April, my office manager shared a post about her experiences as the parent of an extremely premature baby. Lottie King and Mandy Marsden from Leo’s got in touch afterwards to arrange a meeting. The awareness week was created by them and they have been overwhelmed by the response they’ve received from people up and down the country.
The charity, which is based in Teesside, was founded by Lottie in memory of Leo, her son (one of twins) who sadly did not survive his premature birth. Mandy, who is another of the charity’s trustees, also has twins who were born very premature. Their mission is to ensure that parents, families and staff receive adequate mental health support both on the neonatal unit and after discharge.
It was great to welcome Lottie and Mandy to Parliament yesterday. All of us in the room had experience of neonatal trauma and we had a useful discussion about how I might be able to support their work. I look forward to working with them more in the future.