Premature baby clothes - Comp Shop

I started to do a Comp Shop on what Premature baby clothes are already out there in the market and what prices they are, what weight the baby needs to be etc.

Mamas and Papas

 At first I looked at Mamas and Papas. They did packs of Girls all in baby grows for £20.00, this equalling around £6.50 for one which is a reasonable price. However when choosing which size I wanted there smallest was 'Petite New Born' which was 31.5kg/ 7lbs. Natalie's sisters premature baby, Daisy, weighed just 1lbs/9oz therefore these clothes would be far too big. All of the clothes on Mamas and Papas which were for Premature babies were all 7lbs. 

John Lewis

I then looked at John Lewis who do a 'Teddy and Me' collection for premature babies. In this contained two sleep suits, one for a boy and one for a girl. They were £16.00 which is expensive for one but had gone down to £9.00. The sizing is 1-1.5 kg. Daisy was 0.708 kg so this would still be too big for her.

John Lewis have the following sizes for babies and premature babies:

I wanted to try and find a cheap shop that did Premature baby clothes but Asda or Tesco do not which surprised me as I thought they would. Tesco did a book for Premature babies, 'Your Premature baby, 0 - 5 years' for £9.09. This is a guide for parents with premature babies.

Mothercare

I looked at Mothercare as I thought they would definitely have something for Premature babies. They do bodysuits in a pack of three for £7.50 which is a really good price. 

Unfortunately, yet again they don't do small enough premature baby clothes for Daisy. This is the only thing I could find for premature baby clothes on Mothercare. The smallest they do is 3lbs. In their description for Premature baby clothes they state the following:

Features and benefits for Mothercare Premature Baby Bodysuits - 3 Pack

• Designed in conjunction with neonatal care units ensuring only the best for your little one
• Label is on the outside, so it won't irritate baby's delicate skin
• Soft touch hook and loop fastenings are easy to use and comfortable for baby, they allow medical treatment to be administered easily without disturbing baby
• Full opening, arms, gusset and side opening so garment lays out flat making it easy to dress and undress your baby.
• Can be laundered up to 95 degrees celsius so they can be washed in hospital

Whilst looking on Mothercare I had a browse at baby clothes for babies that weren't premature and their prices and if they were similar or if premature baby clothes were more expensive. I found that they did a lot of 5 pack bodysuits for around £12-£13.00 which is around the same price as the premature baby clothes however they had a lot more choice and a range of sizes varying from 0-3 months - 18-24 months. For everything in the baby section they have 'Early baby' size range which is 4 - 5lbs. 

After doing a comp shop I have noticed there is a massive gap in the market for premature baby clothes, I find it shocking how little there is and feel really sorry for parents struggling with a premature baby. I am very keen to create something new in the market to help parents and premature babies.