NATIONAL MEDIA: Families in NICU Get a Surprise Visit from Cupid

Valentine’s Day means love is in the air—and that love is certainly tangible at Saint Luke’s Hospital NICU.

The March of Dimes NICU Family Support Program® at SLH provided parents with critically ill newborns an opportunity to make special Valentine’s Day memories with their little sweethearts.

Staff and volunteers created tiny knit hats decorated with hearts for each baby. Professional photographers whose own babies were once in the NICU volunteered to capture images of the babies in the NICU as keepsakes for their families.

For this special celebration of love, babies and their families also exchanged valentines. March of Dimes and Saint Luke’s created “baby footprint valentines” for the parents. The messages from the little ones read: "From the tips of my toes to the bottom of my heart, I love you!" The parents expressed their feelings in writing in the form of love letters to their babies.

“Every day a child is in the NICU can be frightening and uncertain, but holidays are especially tough, as families miss the normal joys of celebrations at home,” said Rebecca Keunen, March of Dimes NICU Family Support Coordinator, Saint Luke's Hospital.

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