Mum Tara says premature baby Bear '˜is going from strength to strength' at QAÂ

Tara was 24 weeks pregnant when she noticed some bleeding and was sent to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester.

She was then transferred to Queen Alexandra Hospital a few days later as St Richard's is not able to care for babies under 32 weeks.

Tara was suffering from an infection, and after three weeks in hospital her waters broke and the baby had to come. She was given all the medication her baby would need to fight off infections and give him the best start possible and on October 28 Bear Harris was born at 9.11pm at just 28 weeks weighing 2lb 6oz.

Tara, from Chichester, said: '˜You can't realise what this is like until you go through it yourself, but it's also so common. It's amazing how much difference those few extra weeks inside me has made to his development. He was on oxygen for a few days but now he is going from strength to strength and starting to put on weight.

'˜It was an incredibly difficult time as I have two other children, so it was tough being away from them for so long before Bear was born. The team in maternity were brilliant and here at NICU they have been fantastic. There is no doubt that Bear would not be here without them.'  

Around 10 per cent of babies born will require admission to a neonatal unit.