Three women whose children were born prematurely and needed special care have raised over Lm120,000 for the St Luke's Hospital's Special Care Baby Unit since 1997.

Yesterday Louise Farrugia, Didi Busietta and Janice Buttigieg, the three mothers behind the Tiny Infant Parents' Support Group, presented Lm20,000 worth of equipment to the SCBU. Some of the funds were raised during a golf tournament.

An average of 350 babies - 300 of whom are newborns - are admitted to the unit every year. Although some need intensive support, the majority survive. Malta has an eight per cent mortality rate, which is comparable to other units abroad, said Simon Attard Montalto, the chairman of the hospital's paediatrics department.

He explained that most of the babies who do not make it are either very premature or have congenital abnormalities.

Dr Attard Montalto said an increasing number of mothers were more at risk from an obstetric point of view because they were having children later in life.

There was also an increasing problem with infertility, he said, adding that, as a rule, fertility management could result in more multiple births which carried the risk of babies being born prematurely.

The official viability date for a baby stands at between 24 to 25 weeks' gestation, but babies born earlier are still given the necessary support to survive.

"We have had babies who had all the odds stacked against them but still survived," he said.

The walls in the SCBU's corridor are lined with photos of former patients and heartfelt letters of thanks, a reflection of its success stories.

The smallest baby to be admitted at the SCBU was born after a mere 23 weeks gestation.

Ms Farrugia's daughter, Nicole, who was born three months premature weighing just over 500 grammes, spent nine months at the SCBU.

"It was a very difficult time. One day you come to hospital and are told that she had a full feed, and the next day you are informed of a setback - maybe that she has an infection. It is truly a roller coaster ride," she said. At 10 years, Nicole has come far from the tiny baby she was back then with a head smaller than her mother's palm.

In 1997, Ms Farrugia joined forces with Ms Buttigieg, who had given birth to her child at a London hospital and received support from a London-based charity, Bliss. When she came to Malta she got in touch with Ms Farrugia and they set up Tips, a division of the Cana Movement.

Although initially the group was intended to support parents, their donations have become an annual event and a much needed one by the unit. Among the equipment donated yesterday is a state-of-the-art brain monitor, which is the first on the island and will help doctors give a more accurate diagnosis of the baby's neurological health.

Donations can be made on Tips' BOV account 40013143943.

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