The Queen Mary Maternity Ward at Dunedin Hospital found itself in a tricky situation as lockdown set in.
They were running short of woollen beanies and booties to put on newborns because of an inability to use donated goods due to Covid-19 restrictions.
After putting out an urgent call for newly knitted garments, the hospital is now inundated with knitted goods from all over the world, says registered midwife Kylie Fraser.
Some of the woollen baby garments donated to Dunedin Hospital Photo: Kylie Fraser
The maternity ward's plea started with a healthcare assistant’s poster which was reposted online by the hospital's midwives, and that has blown up since.
"It went semi-viral I would say ... it got a huge response from Facebook and Instagram, then the [Otago Daily Times] picked it up as a good news story ... and we had over 70 emails literally from all around the world.
"We've got some knitting coming from Colorado, from the USA, from Canada, lots of Australia and the UK as well, not to mention all throughout New Zealand, as well.
"We're actually hugely inundated with wool singlets, hats, booties, blankets so we're set for quite a few months now.
"We haven't had stock like this ever, it's phenomenal, and it's so heart-warming to be part of the southern city and having a response like that and everybody stepping up ... We can't get over it, it's amazing."
Wool is perfect for newborn baby clothes because it regulates the baby's body temperatures, she says.
"What we do is when a baby is born, we put a hat on moments after, because they can lose a lot of heat through their head.
"With wool's breathable nature, if they are getting too hot, they can release heat through their heads ... and it can trap heat if it needs to as well."
