The Miracle Babies, these very small babies who come into the world prematurely have no other choice. In order to survive, they must be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and be supported by doctors and machines.

Approximately 700 newborns are admitted every year to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital, in Nicosia.

The Unit offers level ΙΙΙ & ΙV hospitalization and it is a reference center for the whole Cyprus, public and private sector, UK Sovereign Bases and Occupied Territories.

The Unit treats premature babies from 23 weeks, with a birth weight of 400 grams and above, as well as newborns who were born with heart problems e.g. heart disease, perinatal asphyxia, infections, etc.

Based on international guidelines, for every 8,000-10,000 births, the operation of a specialized NICU is necessary. In Cyprus, the number of the births every year is approximately 9,000.

The NICU operated at the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital in Nicosia in 1985 with 18 intensive care cots.

The cots have gradually increased to 48, although the building facilities remain the same. There were periods when the occupancy of the NICU was 150%.

Due to insufficient space, the NICU today is not in line with the European standards.

In other European countries, in the NICU the parents can have a continuous presence in the rooms with their babies. In Cyprus, the parents can visit their babies only 2 hours a day. Recently, and after actions taken by our Association, the visiting hours of parents have increased to three a day. The presence of the parents and especially the contact with the mother (skin to skin contact/kangaroo care) has been scientifically proven to help the development of the newborn’s brain, regulate the heartbeat and breathing rate and help it gain weight.

The medical and nursing personnel of the Unit strives every day to cover the gaps and difficulties with their superhuman efforts. We point out that thanks to the specialized personnel of the Unit, the viability of the newborns in the Unit is at a very high level with a rate of 98%.

It is the principle of our Association that every baby, no matter how small it is born, deserves the best possible start in its life. The parents have the right to be with the babies for as long as they want, the mothers have the right to embrace their babies every day, the medical and nursing personnel has the right to work in a healthy and safe environment.

Unfortunately, today’s existing building facts do not allow all these.

The Miracle babies Association remains dedicated to its vision and continues fighting for the realization thereof. The Unit must be upgraded to a European level and be based on International Standards. The Miracle Babies must have the best nursing conditions in order to emerge victorious in their battle for love.

In the new Unit, we must 

• Address the problem of lack of space
• Create a spacious nursing (lactation) room with correct specifications
• Create a family room
• There must be an infrastructure for the continuous presence of parents, skin to skin contact/ kangaroo care
• Upgrade the offices of the medical and nursing personnel