A MUM who gave birth to premature twins last year is collecting knitted octopuses and taking them to local hospitals to help the smallest of babies feel safe after being born prematurely.

Eli Hodson, 24, spent nearly 10 weeks in hospital after her twin girls, Blossom and Tilly, were born 11 weeks early on October 3.

Now that her girls are healthy, the Warminster woman is doing her bit to help other mums going through the trauma of a premature birth.

The mum-of-three said: “I follow a few Facebook pages in support of mums going through premature births and saw a post about people knitting octopuses and taking them to hospitals in Denmark.

“I thought it seemed like a really nice idea so decided to try and get some people on board over here.

“Premature babies have a tendency to pull tubes out but if they have an octopus they pull on the tentacles instead, so it’s a really good distraction method.

“Research has also proven that the tentacles remind babies of the umbilical cord and being in their mother’s womb, which makes them feel safe in their incubator.

“I posted the idea on a local Facebook group and the response was overwhelming. Loads of people said they wanted to get involved and so far I have taken a total of 25 knitted octopuses to hospitals in Southampton and Salisbury.”

Mrs Hodson added that lots of people are not aware how traumatic it can be to give birth to a premature baby.

She said: “You can’t comprehend how small they are – Tilly was the size of my husband’s hand when she was born.

“Most mums get to hold their babies as soon as they are born but I had to wait five days before seeing Blossom for the first time and 11 for Tilly.

“I could barely see either of them underneath all the wires. That was definitely the hardest part.

“Collecting octopuses and donating them to local hospitals is my way of giving something back.”

If you would like to crochet an octopus, contact Mrs Hodson on 07833 247627.