For Health Professionals Services for Families
Many of our resources and services for families can be accessed directly through health professionals within the hospital
We know education, information and connection with peers are the crucial elements of empowering families in the neonatal hospital setting
All of our services and resources have been developed by our team of parents who have the lived experience and are endorsed by health professionals. You can access resources and services directly from us by simply placing an order or asking us about it. Resources are available to the 150 hospitals we work with Australia-wide.
Tip Sheets and Flyers
Our Tip Sheet and Flyer range provides essential information in an easy to read and accessible format. All our tip sheets and flyers are free to download in the Knowledge Exchange.
- # 1 – Tips for navigating the NICU and Special Care
- # 2 – Tips for Family and Friends
- # 3 – Tips for Dads with a baby in NICU or SCN
- # 4 – Tips for Grandparents supporting parents with a baby in the NICU
Our Tip Sheet and Flyer range is also available to order for your hospital in the Health Professional Shop.
- Tips for navigating the NICU and Special Care/Mindfulness Tracks
- Tips for Family and Friends/Tips for Grandparents supporting parents with a baby in the NICU
- Tips for Dads with a baby in NICU or SCN/NICU Connections online Facebook groups
- Our Services Flyer/NICU Connections online Facebook groups flyer
*Please note – tip sheets and flyers are available to health professionals free of charge and come in bundles of 10 units
Order Resource
Guidebooks for families
After almost two decades of supporting families with prem and sick babies we have produced two important guidebooks.
* A Guiding Hand for Families in Special Care Nurseries
* A Guiding Hand for Families in NICU and Special Care Nurseries
We know firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate the neonatal unit when everything is so new and uncertain. These books provide the perfect combination of comfort, validation and information to make families feel less helpless and more in control.
Order our Download Postcard for both E- reader Guidebooks to hand out to families so they can scan the QR code and gain immediate access to either Guidebook.
Order ResourceLittle Bag of Calm
Our Little Bag of Calm is the perfect gift for any parent who has a baby in the neonatal unit.
- It’s been lovingly designed by parents who have been through the experience of having a premature or sick baby and understand the emotional impact that having a baby in hospital can have. It’s about educating parents on the importance of self-care.
- Introduction Card and pocket heart
- Little Moments Milestone Cards
- Art therapy colouring in activity
- Tea bag post card – as a reminder to take a moment for self-care
What’s inside:
Please reach out to your LLTF State Coordinator to check if your unit is eligible to order.
NICU Connections
A morning tea is held each month, or fortnightly, in selected hospitals across Australia.
We hope health professionals will encourage parents to take part and enjoy a light morning tea and a ‘cuppa’ with our peer support staff and volunteers who have the lived experience.
This is an opportunity for families to share their story and learn from other families about how they are managing their NICU or SCN journey. They will also learn all about LLTF and how we can support and empower them to be their baby’s best advocate.
In addition to in hospital NICU Connections events, we have developed three online support groups for parents;
- NICU Connections in Hospital – My baby is in hospital – Fridays 11am -1pm AEST
- NICU Connections at Home – We’re now home – Wednesdays 11am -1pm AEST
- NICU Connections for Dads and male carers – Wednesdays 8pm –10pm AEST
These sessions are run via an online closed Facebook group so parents can sit with their baby and join in cot-side using their own personal device.
Learn MoreColouring Books for Siblings
My Colourful Journey is a colouring in book that gently educates siblings of babies in a Neonatal Unit about what they might see, hear and feel in a Neonatal Unit.
- The book supports children to normalise their reactions and reduces the emotional impact of having a sibling in hospital can have. It provides a space for siblings and parents to explore hospitalisation through a creative medium and reinforces the important role of siblings.
- My Brave Journey is for families who have a baby born prematurely or sick and does not survive. This book helps parents have the conversation with siblings.
Family Assistance Program
Having a baby in hospital long term or located far away from home can mean that parents are not only dealing with the stress of caring for a baby in hospital, but are also having to manage the financial pressures associated with travel, accommodation and food in order to spend precious time with their baby.
Today, as a Foundation, we run the Family Assistance Program which provides parents with food and fuel vouchers to the value of $100. This assistance helps ease some of the financial pressures so that parents can concentrate on spending time bonding and caring for their baby.
There are so many families who need this support and that’s why we work closely with the social work teams within hospitals to ensure our services can help families as soon as they need it.
Find out more
“LLTF provides an important peer support for our families. The value of being able to talk to someone who understands what they are going through and can completely identify with their experience, is immeasurable. The NICU Connections morning teas are great additions to the support network for our families and without them, there would be a gap in the “care” for the families who have babies in our unit. We are grateful to be in partnership with LLTF.”
Kate CoghillClinical Nurse Consultant, Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit – Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital (RBWH), Queensland
Bereavement Pack
These packs are unfortunately an item that we have to pack from time to time. Please know that they provide families with comfort and the items that we send are helping them to collect keepsakes that help them remember their precious babies. A bereavement pack can be requested by any hospital staff member.
- They can be adjusted dependent upon the circumstances, but should include the following where possible:
- A handmade quilt
- A commemorative outfit
- A copy of Remembering Me by Shaela Maugher
- A white pocket heart for each parent
- A handwritten note
LLTF Breast Pump Program
For new parents starting and establishing their milk supply, there can be unforseen barriers that can make it difficult—especially for parents with babies in Neonatal Intensive Care units.
Parents of premature and sick babies often need to establish their milk supply using a breast pump whilst in hospital and then at home. If their baby is too unwell or underdeveloped to establish feeding directly at the breast, this can sometimes mean they are expressing milk for weeks, even months if their baby requires a long stay in hospital for medical care.
We are proud of our Breast Pump Program, presented by Medela. Thanks to our generous Partner, Medela, we will be gifting Medela Swing Maxi Double Electric Pumps to families in NICU who do not have access to a breast pump to help support them in their feeding journey in the NICU and beyond.
Find out more100 Days Quilt Pack
A special gift to celebrate a huge milestone – 100 days in hospital. Health professionals can order a supply of gorgeous, handcrafted baby quilts to celebrate special days with families in NICU and Special Care Nurseries
- What’s included in each pack:
- A handmade quilt (you can specify as to colour scheme – blue, pink or neutral)
- A 100 Days in Hospital milestone card
- LLTF hand knitted teddy
- Our Services flyer
