Worcestershire mum welcomes longer period of leave for those who have babies in neonatal care
Charlotte Shooter from Droitwich gave birth to her son Arthur last April at the 26-week stage of her pregnancy
A Worcestershire mum says the new neonatal care leave in place from today would've been a real benefit to her.
From today (6 April) neonatal care leave will be available to parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care up to 28 days old and who have a continuous stay in hospital of seven full days or longer.
These measures will allow for those parents to take up to 12 weeks of leave on top of any other leave they may be entitled to, including maternity and paternity leave.
Charlotte Shooter from Droitwich gave birth to her son Arthur last April at the 26-week stage of her pregnancy.
She welcomes the news and says this level if support would've helped her and her family.
"It means that mum and dad can have that full time experience once the baby is home which is so important," she said.
"My husband wouldn't have had to leave for work and he would've been there to support us on the hardest days, it wasn't like I could go home and see him either as I was living in the hospital which was over two hours away from home.
"It also takes the pressure off people having to make the tough choice between being at your child's bedside when they are the most sick and having to go to work to pay the bills."
The government says it is committed to providing the support families need to allow them to be by their child’s side without having to work throughout or use up their existing leave.