Each year 80,000 UK babies (one in eight) are born prematurely or sick - the highest rate in Western Europe. These babies will be looked after in a special care baby unit and cared for in an incubator by a nurse - meaning reduced contact with mum. The skin-to-skin care method is simple and involves placing the baby in an upright position against a mother's bare chest. It is proven to have physical benefits for baby, including being an effective way of stabilising a baby's temperature and regularising breathing. It also helps a baby's cognitive, behavioural and motor development.

As a result of Fairy's support of BLISS, research was undertaken by Professor Maria Tallandini, an expert in the field of Psychology:

“Over the last 20 years, I have studied and worked with mums and premature babies and noticed how stressed, helpless and detached the mothers of premature babies often feel - even years after the birth.  I believe that skin-to-skin care is a vital form of developmental care that can have a significant impact on the well being of mother and baby.  It can provide the first intimate encounter between the mother and her baby in a hospital environment and help reaffirm herself in her role as a mother. I hope to prove its effectiveness and encourage its widespread implementation in the UK.”

Skin-to-skin care is already practised in both the developing and developed world - from Italy, Holland, Finland and France, to South Africa, Indonesia and Madagascar, and is even national policy in Brazil! Although implemented in some advanced UK hospitals, it has not yet become standard practice in the UK.