A mother whose premature baby spent weeks in neonatal care has welcomed a new UK law aimed at giving parents extra time off work.
The law, set to take effect on April 6, 2025, will offer additional paid leave to parents of babies requiring care in neonatal units. Under the new legislation, parents will be able to take up to 12 weeks of leave on top of any other leave, such as maternity and paternity leave. In some cases, this leave will be fully paid.
This change has been hailed by a leading charity as “transformative” for the support of families with babies in neonatal care. According to the charity, one in seven newborns in the UK requires treatment in a specialist hospital unit.
The new Neonatal Care Leave applies to parents of babies who are admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and stay for a minimum of seven full days.
Bethan Wyn, from Carmarthen, knows first-hand the challenges of having a premature baby. Her daughter, Mari Glyn, was born at 31 weeks at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol and required several weeks of care in the neonatal unit before being well enough to go home.
Wyn’s maternity leave had originally been scheduled to begin in February but automatically started in December when Mari Glyn was born early. While Wyn and her husband received support from their employers, she acknowledged that not all parents are so fortunate.
“If many parents are forced to return to work or face a period without pay, it adds even more stress during an already difficult time,” she told BBC Cymru Fyw. “It was the most challenging period of our lives.”
Wyn explained that the stress of worrying about income or having to cut maternity or paternity leave short only adds to the difficulty. She said the new law would help alleviate this pressure for many families.
“I’m really grateful for this change. It’s going to take that stress away for a lot of parents,” she added.
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