A BRAND new service has been launched at the Wrexham Maelor.

The hospital has launched a baby massage class for premature babies and their parents every Wednesday.

All of the babies at the class were born prematurely, received treatment at the Special Care Baby Unit at the Maelor, and the aim of the classes are to strengthen the bond between the parents and child, as well as improve communication.

Karen Hughes, Manager of the Natal Unit at Wrexham Maelor said: “This has been organised over the last 18 months and a lot of hard work has gone into making it all possible.

“We had to source a venue on the site at the hospital, we also had to put two members of staff through a baby massage course so that they could meet the criteria to be able to teach it.

“Parents who have had a baby on the unit are invited to 5 sessions, which will run every week.”

Speaking about why they decided to start offering this service, she added: “Parents have been getting and giving each other a lot of support when they’ve been coming to previous events, so we thought we would take it to the next level.

“It is massively important for parents to be able to bond with their babies early on, especially when they’ve already lost out on time with their children being treated in the Special Care Baby Unit.

“These sessions will allow the parents to further bond with their babies and also improve communication between them as well,

“It also gives them a chance to continue receiving support from the unit, as well as the community.”