In 1981, Baby Lifeline bought its very first piece of life-saving equipment: an incubator for Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry. It marked the start of a mission that has gone on to support mothers, babies, and healthcare professionals for over four decades.
One of the very first babies to use that incubator was Gemma Tate, born nine weeks premature in February 1981. At the time, doctors feared she wouldn’t survive. But thanks to the incubator that Baby Lifeline helped fund, and to the care she received, Gemma pulled through.
Gemma spent her first weeks of life in the incubator provided by Baby Lifeline while her parents and grandparents took turns sitting by her side. “My dad always says I weighed about the same as a bag of sugar,” Gemma shared. “At one point, the doctors didn’t think I’d make it, so they arranged for me to be christened in hospital.”
Now in her forties, Gemma still lives in Coventry. Despite challenges caused by her prematurity, including cerebral palsy and epilepsy, she has a university degree. Whilst at university she met her husband, Neil. Gemma built a successful career in local government and loves to spend her free time learning Spanish and traveling with Neil.
Gemma is sharing her story to raise awareness this World Prematurity Day.
“The main reason I’m still here is because Baby Lifeline raised the money for that incubator,” says Gemma. “So many people like me wouldn’t be here without it.”
For Baby Lifeline’s Founder and CEO, Judy Ledger, Gemma’s story is especially moving.
“The incubator Gemma was cared for in was the very first piece of equipment we bought,” Judy explains. “Seeing the lives that continue to be touched by that one act of giving reminds us why Baby Lifeline exists.”
Today, Baby Lifeline continues to support maternity and neonatal care across the UK and beyond by funding specialist training, providing equipment, and carrying out research.
Since 1981, Baby Lifeline has provided millions of pounds’ worth of equipment, helping to ensure that babies like Gemma have the best possible start in life.
Join us this World Prematurity Day, 17th November 2025, as we remember the babies born too soon, celebrate those who survived, and continue working to make every birth safer.
Learn more and support our work: babylifeline.org.uk