Bliss

This collection is uncatalogued. The following is a temporary description which may change when detailed cataloguing takes place in the future. Organisational records created and collated by Bliss, a UK charity dedicated to improving outcomes for babies born premature or sick and to supporting the families and professionals involved in their care. The archive documents the formation, development and activities of Bliss from the 1970s to the present day, and includes : - Board of Trustee and committee meeting papers and minutes (1990s-2000s) including Chief Executive reports and updates on activities such as equipment donations, family support services, professional training, grants and research support. - AGM papers (1990s-2000s) - Annual reports and Bliss baby reports (2000s-2010s) - Press coverage (1970s-2020s) in bound volumes, including cuttings relating to Bliss (e.g. campaigning, support services and reports) as well as general coverage of relevance (e.g. articles about funding for neonatal services) - Blue Peter appeal records (1980s-1990s) including correspondence, photographs, posters, press releases, press cuttings and planning appeals relating to the Bliss Blue Peter fundraising appeals in 1989 and 1999. - Printed and published (1980s-2010s) including research reports, promotional leaflets and posters, information resources for parents and health professionals and newsletters for families and supporters. - 25th and 30th anniversary records (1980s-2000s) including conference papers, Bliss information brochures and original photographs of Bliss campaigners marching on Downing Street. - Audiovisual media (1980s-2000s) including video recordings of Bliss televised appeals and audio fact files.

1970s-2020s

Uncatalogued: 27 boxes, 2 items, 11 posters, 10 digital items, 5 Betacam tapes, 6 VHS tapes and 2 audio cassette tapes

Acc 2811 donated February 2026; Acc 2812 donated January 2026.

Bliss was founded in 1979 out of concern over the state of neonatal services in UK hospitals. Newspaper coverage in The Daily Telegraph in August 1979 highlighted underfunding, shortages of specialist equipment, and a lack of trained staff within specialist baby units. In response, Allan Chilvers, a father, wrote a letter to the newspaper proposing the creation of a society to raise funds for essential equipment and specialist training. Inspired by this appeal, Susanna Cheal OBE and Joanna Bertorelli, both mothers who had experienced difficult births, convened the first meeting of a group of supporters on 7th November 1979. Bliss, which stood for Baby Life Support Systems, was thus formed, with Cheal as its first Chair. Initially a volunteer-led organisation, Bliss raised funds through events such as Bring and Buy sales, and through donations. Proceeds were used to purchase life-saving equipment for hospitals, including incubators, oxygen machines and ventilators, and a medical advisory panel was set up to ensure that support reached neonatal units most in need. The charity emerged during a period of growing scrutiny of neonatal outcomes in the UK. The Short and Walker Reports, published within a few months of Bliss’ founding, drew attention to comparatively poor neonatal mortality rates in the UK and called for greater investment in specialist services. In response to these findings, Bliss campaigners pushed an incubator along Downing Street and presented a petition calling on the government to invest in neonatal services. During the 1980s, Bliss broadened its activities beyond equipment funding. Alongside funding specialist training for doctors and nurses, it established Blisslink, a volunteer-led service offering practical and emotional support to parents on neonatal units. These developments reflected an increasing recognition that families needed support alongside clinical care. Through these efforts, Bliss evolved from a small volunteer-led fundraising organisation into an influential national charity, raising £750,000 within its first five years. As neonatal care developed in the UK, Bliss increasingly focused on research, policy development and service improvement. In 1995, Bliss supported the landmark EPICure study, which examined long-term outcomes for babies born before 26 weeks' gestation and helped shed light on how survival rates for premature babies have changed over time. Public fundraising campaigns also contributed to improving neonatal services, including through BBC Blue Peter appeals in 1989 and 1999, which generated millions of pounds for life-saving equipment across the UK. By the late 1990s and 2000s, however, Bliss argued that charitable fundraising could not provide a sustainable solution to the challenges facing neonatal care. A high-profile media campaign in 2000 highlighted the sector's reliance on donations and helped secure an additional £6.5 million in government funding. Following this shift, the charity moved away from direct equipment provision and concentrated on information services, family-centred support, professional education, research funding and influencing public policy. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Bliss became a significant voice in shaping neonatal policy and practice. It contributed to the Department of Health's review of neonatal care, helped inform the development of neonatal networks, and promoted standards for family-centred care through initiatives such as the Bliss Baby Report and the Bliss Baby Charter (2005). The charity also expanded geographically with the establishment of Bliss Scotland in 2009 and developed widely used information resources for parents, including the Bliss Family Handbook. Its research and advocacy work also addressed the broader social and economic impacts of neonatal care on families. Campaigns and evidence-gathering contributed to improvements in areas such as hospital parking costs, financial support for families in Scotland, bereavement rights, and workplace protections for parents whose babies require prolonged hospital care. Today, Bliss supports families through information and support services including volunteer programmes; provides education and quality improvement programmes for healthcare professionals; campaigns for policy and legislative change; and contributes to research to advance neonatal care. Since its foundation in 1979, the charity has evolved from a grassroots fundraising initiative into the UK's leading national charity for babies born premature or sick, working to ensure that every baby has the best possible chance of survival and a healthy future.

Copyright in material created by Bliss has been transferred to Wellcome Collection: this material can be used under the conditions of a CC BY 4.0 licence. The copyright in all other material is held by a range of rights holders. You are free to use the material in any way that is permitted by copyright exceptions and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights holder.

This collection is currently uncatalogued and cannot be ordered online. Due to ongoing work to improve our collections management systems we are unable to facilitate access to uncatalogued material until 2027.