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Prince William opens the Winnicott Centre

19th September 2006

Prince William visited St Mary’s Hospital in London to open a special care unit for premature babies today.  The Winnicott Centre cares for some of the most critically ill babies in the UK and treats more than 300 from across the country each year.

It is renowned for its pioneering gentle care approach including baby massage and wards specifically designed to help the infants grow stronger.

Prince William and his brother Prince Harry were born at the hospital and William returned today to reopen the Winnicott Centre after a refurbishment to improve the layout and design of the Unit, including a larger waiting area for parents.

Prince William toured the new facility and met parents and staff, and held some of the tiny babies who are being cared for there.

Staff told William about some of the innovative practices being used by unit staff and parents to help babies develop and overcome long-term problems associated with prematurity.

The 24-year-old Prince took three-week-old twins Sina and Sem Nuru in his arms in turn and chatted to their mother Banata.

William first cuddled baby girl Sina, who was 4lb 4oz when born 10 weeks early but now weighs 5lb.

He said: “She’s very nice and calm. She’s so sweet. She’s only slightly bigger than my hand.”

Sina was wearing a white babygrow with a pink teddy bear pattern, but underneath had a vest bearing the words “Little Princess”.

“Who got the T-shirt for her?” William asked with a grin.

Nursery nurse Ann Mason told William that his mother Diana, Princess of Wales had also visited the unit and had held some of the babies being cared for there.

Prince William responded by saying: “I haven’t got the same touch with the babies as she used to have. They usually start crying when I pick them up!”

The Prince also held baby boy Sem, who was wearing a pale blue babygro.

The babies sleep together under a tiny canopy to shield their eyes from the light and to encourage development.

The newly refurbished unit has pale coloured murals on the walls and noise is kept to a minimum.

He also saw twin boys Noel and Joel Thomas who were just 13-days-old after arriving 10 weeks early. The infant brothers were each tucked inside one of their parents' shirts - a term known as kangaroo care which promotes close contact and helps them develop.

The Prince said as he looked at the baby boys: “I hope they're okay. Are they doing lots of sleeping? They’re very sweet. Oh, there’s an eye open there.”

The Prince, who spent around half an hour in the special care unit, also visited the most critically ill newborns in the Winnicott.

He met parents privately in the intensive care wing where five babies are being cared for at the moment and saw a baby boy who was born weighing just 1lb 7oz.

William opened the Winnicott unit by cutting a red ribbon which was tied across one of the corridors.

He was presented with the scissors by three-year-old Jack James who was treated there with his twin brother Thomas when they were born 15 weeks premature weighing just over 2lbs.

Jack and his brother returned to the ward especially for William’s visit. The Prince knelt down to talk to the boys as Thomas sucked his thumb.

As William went to cut the ribbon, he encouraged the boys to help him, bending down and taking Jack’s hand and placing it on the scissors.

Developmental specialist Igna Warren, who helped show William around said afterwards: “I thought he was absolutely brilliant. He was brave to hold the babies as it can be quite nerve racking with those that are premature.

“He also asked how the mothers felt which is really good.”

Before leaving, Prince William met well wishers outside the hospital courtyard.

The Prince beamed and said thank you as he collected bunches of flowers from wellwishers, then smiled even more when asked by one: "Did it make you broody?"

William laughed and said: “Broody? I don't know about that - not yet.”

As he wandered past lines of wellwishers shaking hands, he stopped at one little girl and bent down to say hello to Zainab Wadi, aged four.

The child’s mother, Shereen Ahmed, 30, a housewife originally from Iraq but now living in Maida Vale, north west London, said: “I was visiting my auntie in hospital when we heard William was coming and my daughter began crying and she made me promise to wait an hour to see him.

“He was very, very gentle and he hugged and held her.”