Premature babies are given a graduation ceremony when leaving hospital and it’s incredible

A nurse in North Carolina has come up with the most fantastic idea for babies who leave hospital after a lengthy stay.

After one baby spent 62 days in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, Nurse Melissa Jordan came up with the wonderful idea of having a graduation ceremony.

The baby she had been looking after was finally going home, and when the parents arrived with a onesie stating ‘NICU Grad’, the nurse came up with the unique idea and organised the ceremony.

The ceremony consists of singing and a graduation shoot, where the most adorable shots are taken alongside their decorated mortarboard that reads: "X days behind me, a whole lifetime in front of me".

In a video created by CaroMont NICU, they claim the babies are the 'world's youngest graduates' and create a slideshow insisting 'they might be a bit young for college, but their futures look bright'.

So far this year thirteen babies have graduated from the NICU, with three sets of twins a part of the ceremonies. 

The idea was so well received that staff decided to keep the graduation as a way to celebrate the accomplishment for families of ‘preemies’ who are finally going home.

Babies who are born six weeks or more premature are inducted into the graduation hall, but the nurses believe it is also a stem of hope for parents whose babies are just entering the NICU.

Bella Baby Photography takes all birth photos at the CaroMont Health Centre and when they were contacted about the shoots, they agreed to take the graduation photos free of charge.

We think this idea is wonderful, such a beautiful way of celebrating the milestone already reached by such tiny tots. 

What do you think of this idea? Would this be something you'd like to see introduced into maternity wards near you?