NEWBORN babies at Royal Blackburn Hospital have been given a helping hand at feeding time thanks to a children’s charity.

MedEquip4Kids has funded an electric breast pump for the hospital’s children’s unit for mothers unable to breastfeed naturally because their baby is sick.

Before the arrival of the pump, mums would have to leave their child to express their milk on a different ward, which could be distressing for both the mother and child.

But the new pump allows mothers to stay with their baby and the milk is either saved until the baby is well enough, or used to tube feed the child.

The charity was able to fund the £1,090 electric breast pump thanks to a donation from the John Frederick Leach Trust. Sue Henry, infant feeding co-ordinator at the Royal Black-burn Hospital, said: “Having a new breast pump on the children’s unit means that we can support mothers to main-tain their milk supply while their child is not feeding and also to be able to express their milk to complement breast-feeding when appropriate.”

MedEquip4Kids raises money to provide medical equipment for children’s wards and neo-natal units at hospitals across the north of England.