When Ella Shapland went for a routine gestational diabetes test, she expected a sugary drink and a quick check-up – not to be told she’d be giving birth that night at just 27 weeks pregnant.
“I have never been so scared, nervous and upset in my whole life,” says the Ashburton mum recalling the moment she found out her baby was going to be born via emergency caesarean 13 weeks earlier than expected.
Nova Sadie Gibbons was born on July 15, 2023, weighing only 1032 grams. Fragile but perfectly healthy, she spent the next 80 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
“My first time going into NICU I felt so distant from my wee girl,” says Ella, “I had all these ideals on how the birth would go and our first night together, but instead she was on the floor below us, in an incubator with wires attached to her. It was not how I imagined it.”
Each year in Aotearoa, more than 5000 babies like Nova are admitted to NICUs or Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs) – a rollercoaster journey for families of fear, hope and emotional strain. With extended hospital stays, relocation and time away from work during an unbearably difficult time, whānau often also face unexpected financial pressures.
To help ease these burdens, The Little Miracles Trust – which supports families as they navigate the practical and psychological toll of caring for a premature or sick baby – has launched its Miracle Month of May appeal in partnership with Woolworths New Zealand. Together, they aim to raise $50,000 for the charity’s Family Assistance Fund, which provides urgent help with essentials like food, transport and temporary accommodation.
Kiwis can support the cause simply by doing their regular grocery shop. From baby wipes to food, milk powder and nappies, Woolworths and its brand partners will donate 5 cents from every eligible baby product sold in May directly to The Little Miracles Trust. The campaign is already off to a fighting start with a $20,000 donation from Woolworths.
Ella says the support from The Little Miracles Trust during Nova’s NICU journey was truly life changing.
“As soon as Nova was born, I knew that I was going to be living in Christchurch for the next wee while. I didn’t even know where to start … where will I live? How will we afford the commuting and the accommodation? What’s going to happen with Nova? All these questions were going through my mind and I felt empty. I felt lost. I felt anxious. That’s when Little Miracles stepped in,” she says.
The new mum vividly remembers the first time she met Jemma from the Trust. “I gave her a hug and she said to me, ‘everything will be okay, Nova will be a fighter and they won’t remember any of this’”.
Ella was later introduced to Susie, another support worker who had gone through the NICU experience herself.
“It was great listening to their stories and hearing how wonderful their babies are today. I loved coming in and catching up with the ladies throughout the week and just having someone to listen and support us in any way we needed,” says Ella. “If I didn’t have them there, the experience would have been harder than it needed to be – I am so grateful for everything they did for us.”
Thanks to Woolworths’ support, in 2024 The Little Miracles Trust delivered over 6000 hours of cot-side peer support and distributed more than 650 food and fuel vouchers to families in intensive care.
After almost three months in NICU, Nova and her proud parents finally returned home to Ashburton, now clocking at the scales at 2.8kg.
Says Ella, “We made lifelong friends in the NICU with people who could relate to what we had been through, and I am so grateful for that and all the Little Miracles Trust staff, Ronald McDonald House and all of the lovely nurses at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.”
Ella still keeps in touch with the Trust team and often shares updates and photos of her darling daughter, who continues to thrive.
There are plenty of other ways generous Kiwis can support The Little Miracles Trust in May. Decommissioned incubators in Dunedin South, Paraparaumu and Newmarket Woolworths stores will be accepting cash donations, and keen contributors can donate directly to the Little Miracles Trust.
