West Midlands couple calling for law change to give parents of premature babies extended leave
A petition signed by more than 357,000 people will be debated by MPs today.
A couple from Halesowen, whose twin sons were born at just 25 weeks gestation, have been campaigning along with the charity The Smallest Things for seven years to get legislation in place.
With a petition signed by thousands of people; the campaign, supported by Stuart McDonald MP, will be debated in Parliament this morning (15 July.)
It calls for all employers to give parents of premature babies 12 weeks paid leave. Campaigners say this would allow parents to spend precious time with their newborn in neonatal care, as well as adjust to home-life when they are discharged, without the worry of returning to work so quickly.
Matt Wilkinson and his wife Sally's twin boys were born at just 25 weeks gestation in 2015. Sam sadly passed away after 16 days. Harry spent 107 days in neonatal care before coming home on oxygen support.
Matt said making sure all employers are as supportive as they can be is crucial: "If we'd had neonatal leave, we would have been able to spend more time as a family.
"We could have had some time to come to terms with the loss of Sam and been more prepared and able to commit to returning to the workforce.
"Bringing in additional neonatal leave will support families like mine all over the country and enable them to focus on those precious moments you never get back."