Secret Santa Appeal 2020 - Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation

Hi, my name's Tricia Breslin and I'm a Charge Nurse at St John's Mother and Baby Unit, in Livingston.

Women come here from across Scotland because they're at the moderate to severe end of the scale for maternal mental health problems. Many have never had any previous mental health issues - and they are often shocked that they've coped with lots of different things in their life, and managed those, and then having a baby affects them so profoundly.

We have mums and babies with us every Christmas. It's a particularly hard time for mum, because it's her baby's first Christmas - and it won't be how she imagined it. It's hard for the rest of the family, too, not being able to have mum and baby home with them.

So, for the mums and babies who do need to stay with us, we do everything we can to make sure they still have the best Christmas possible.

We usually do them a Christmas party, and we get them some little Christmas treats - something for them - to give them a bit of a lift. We also get some little gifts for them to give to their baby, because they are not well enough to get to the shops.

These thoughtful little gifts do make such a difference to the mums, who are feeling very low, and they seem to mean even more because they are kindness from a stranger - someone like you. Something as simple as a face pack, or a nice hand cream can put a smile on a mum's face at a time when she really needs it.

Could you give a Christmas gift today, to help us lift someone's spirits while they're in hospital and away from their loved ones?

- £5 could buy a gift to help bring some joy to a mum staying in hospital with her new baby over Christmas.

- £10 could buy a first Christmas present for mum in hospital to give to her new baby.

- £15 could buy a Christmas gift for a mum and baby who are unable to spend Christmas at home with their family.

When you're feeling so down, it means the world that someone you've never met has thought enough about you to buy you a present. Small acts of kindness like these have become even more important because of the additional stress and anxiety that the pandemic has created for many vulnerable patients and their families - even more so with restrictions on visiting needed to keep patients safe.

No one wants to spend Christmas in hospital. So please help me and my NHS colleagues to bring some joy to local people who aren't well enough to be at home for Christmas, by becoming a Secret Santa today.

Thank you so much.

Tricia
Charge Nurse, St John's Mother and Baby Unit

PS We're sorry we can't accept donated items because of the risk of infection.