A UK mum has launched her own signage brand in a bid to stop strangers touching newborns.
After suffering from postnatal depression, Helen Baker, 40, set up her 'Don't Touch the Baby' business to stop people intentionally touching her babies and passing on unwanted germs.
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Baker calls Hugo, Coco and Monty her "miracle" children after struggling with ten rounds of IVF over six years.
The property landlord says she used the same batch of embryos as her first-born Hugo, now eight, for her two twins Coco and Monty, now 10 months.
"When I was pregnant with the twins last summer in 2018, I was thinking back to when Hugo was a newborn and I hated it when people would grab his cheeks," Baker told Caters .
"It isn't acceptable to go up to an adult and randomly touch them, so why should it be any different with babies?"
Baker says after suffering miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies and spending £15,000 (NZ$28,000) on IVF, she felt anxious about the health of her babies.
"I used to get anxiety when people would touch Hugo and invade my personal space and I wasn't willing to go through this again with the twins," she revealed.
"I very vividly remember returning home from a shopping trip in floods of tears after a stranger had lent into his pram and touched his face.
"I felt bad as I know she had meant no harm, nevertheless the situation left me feeling out of control and slightly violated."
Baker's 'Don't Touch' tags can be attached to prams to prevent strangers from assuming they can touch the baby.
"I created these child-friendly tags for the mums out there who were suffering like me and for the premature or sick babies who can't be exposed to germs."
The tags are available in pink, blue and grey for under £6 (NZ$12).
"The polite signs are to put parents at ease. It is within every parent's right to say 'don't touch the baby' - but sometimes it's awkward to do so and at least this way, the signs do the talking," Baker explains.
"I am now never put in an awful situation where someone who may not of washed their hands is touching my new precious babies."
The signs have received mixed reviews, with some calling them "over the top".
But Baker says other mums have thanked her.
"They now have the confidence to go out with their babies without the fear of having an awkward conversation with a stranger," she says.
"I feel empowered with the tags on the pram and I want other mums to feel the same too."
Newshub.
