Delivery rooms brightened up by 100 butterflies

Delivery rooms at Blackpool Victoria Hospital have received a makeover as well-known local artist Christian Fenn, known by his professional name Seca One, created a special mural on the walls to celebrate babies born in Blackpool.

Earlier this year the Trust put a call out on social media offering parents the chance to get their child’s name and date of birth included on the wall with a butterfly in the colour of their choice. Of the 300 nominations, one third were selected at random and now feature on the previously white walls.

Rebecca Smith, Delivery suite manager at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals applied for the maternity unit to be included in the project led by hospital charity Blue Skies. The charity has been transforming areas of the hospital through a project developed by artist Christian called “Butterfly Effected.”. Other areas also transformed include the corridor outside of the hospital’s Acute Medical Unit (AMU) and the Cardiac Centre.

Rebecca commented, “For colleagues and families in the delivery suite the butterflies remind us of all the babies who have been born here in Blackpool over recent years. While the murals are a celebration of new life, we also include our babies who were taken too soon and remember that every birth is special.”

Local mum Cally Steward, along with her daughter Myla, was invited to see their butterfly with baby boy Chester’s name on. Chester was also the first baby to be born in Blackpool on New Year’s Day 2024 at 2.03am. Cally commented looking at the butterfly: “I had a difficult pregnancy with Chester, circumstances at the time were different and with him being my last baby I felt it was a beautiful way to remember our time at the hospital. I went into spontaneous labour and almost didn’t make it here and the butterfly is almost like that feeling of excitement and nerves that I remember from that day.”

Melissa Hodge, who is a staff nurse in the Neonatal unit at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, brought her son Jack in to see his butterfly: “It was a chaotic day for us when Jack was born, I ended up having an emergency c-section and can remember having to be on the monitors for four hours before-hand, just looking at this one wall …where Jack’s butterfly now is. Working as a neonatal nurse I see the other side and it reminded me how everyone’s birth is so different, no matter who you are, your background or experiences like the butterflies every baby is special and unique”.  

The full list of butterflies featuring on the wall can be found below. The Trust would like to thank everyone who helped choose the colours for the butterflies on the wall