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Mum writes children's book about premature birth after her daughter spends month in intensive care
Overview
Lihini Ekanayake, an NHS mental health doctor from Derbyshire, has written a children's book titled 'A Little Too Soon' to help families explain neonatal care to siblings. The book was inspired by her own experience when her daughter was born eight weeks early in 2018 at the Royal Derby Hospital. Ekanayake has gifted 50 copies of the book to the hospital's neonatal unit and is also selling copies online to raise funds for the Friends of the Baby Unit charity.
Key points
- Lihini Ekanayake wrote 'A Little Too Soon' to help parents explain neonatal intensive care to young siblings.
- The book was inspired by her daughter's premature birth at the Royal Derby Hospital in 2018, where she spent a month in intensive care.
- Initially starting as a poem written from her hospital observations, the book is written from the perspective of an older sibling.
- Ekanayake has donated 50 printed copies to the Royal Derby Hospital for families to use.
- Copies are also available for purchase on Etsy, with all proceeds donated to the Friends of the Baby Unit charity.