Midwife goes above and beyond by re-creating blanket for Berwick family

The maternity service at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust receives kind donations of knitted items and over the last 18 months since her daughter Nova was born, Sigourney Pattinson had not stopped thinking about the blanket that was given to her.

On the day she took her newborn daughter home, the blanket was mistakenly left behind at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH) in Cramlington.

It had remained in the back of her mind for some time after arriving home and she started to realise it had more significance than she first thought.

Nova was Sigourney’s first child and she had complications throughout her pregnancy. The blanket represented the struggles she had gone through, but how at the end of it all she had her newborn daughter.

She also has a memory of her dad coming to visit her in the hospital and giving baby Nova a cuddle while she was wrapped in the blanket.

Sadly, Sigourney’s father died last Christmas and this made it even more important for the blanket to be replaced.

After having no luck trying to find the colours and patterns to replicate the blanket, she contacted the midwives at NSECH to see if they could help.

They searched for a similar blanket, but also had no luck. Midwife Paula Barlow, however, was not ready to give up and offered to make it herself.

She said: “It was a special memory for Sigourney and in comparison to losing a parent, this is a tiny gesture.

“I’ve knitted on and off for years but learnt to crochet only a couple of years ago. I made one of the midwives a blanket when she was expecting her first baby.”

Sigourney said: “I cried when I found out it was being made. I couldn’t believe the kindness shown by Paula.

“Nova obviously doesn’t remember the blanket but I think because I’ve made such a fuss over it, she knows it’s special. Every night when I go to get her ready for bed, she’s always got it wrapped around herself like a cape.

“I just wish my dad knew I’d managed to get a copy of the blanket as he knew the trouble I’d had trying to get it back.”