It’s over – after six months of dedicated knitting by people from all over the world, the midwives at the Royal United Hospital in Bath are calling time for now on their incredibly successful baby bobble hat appeal.
The Bath Birthing Centre at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (RUH) is bursting at the seams with bags of the colour coded hats, so for the time being they’re saying thank you very much – but no more please.
Rachel Coleman, Practice Development Sister, explained, “We’re really grateful to all of the hard-working knitters and crocheters who have been so very generous with their time, skill and wool. Thank you to everyone who was part of this wonderful response – we’re stunned at the number of hats that have arrived.”
The Bath Birthing Centre originally asked for around 5,000 hats to help ensure that babies receive the individual care they need. The hospital’s social media appeal went viral with knitters aged from 9 to 94 involved, sending hats from 160 different locations and countries including USA, Portugal, Spain, UK and Ireland.
The white hats, with red, amber or green bobbles, give a traffic-light indication to midwifery staff about a baby’s care. A green bobble means a baby is term, warm and feeding well. Amber indicates a baby needs a little more help with feeding and keeping warm. Red shows a baby will have regular observations by a nurse or midwife.
Rachel added, “Babies still receive traditional midwifery care, but this is an extra visual aid. The hats make a real difference in further improving the quality of care we provide and we are extremely grateful for every hat donated.