The mum-of-two from Bebington was on life support at the hospital when she was born
16:57, 03 Jan 2026Updated 18:28, 03 Jan 2026
Joanna Bray made an emotional return to Arrowe Park Hospital’s neonatal unit in November(Image: Liverpool Echo)
After being born in the neonatal unit of Arrowe Park hospital just 25-weeks into her mum’s pregnancy, Joanna Bray, 40, made an emotional return in November to offer the chance for families to have their pictures taken free of charge.
Four decades after being born there herself, Joanna, returned to Arrowe Park neonatal unit last month in what was an emotional moment for the mum-of-two. After seeing a post from Wirral Maternity Neonatal Voices on Facebook calling for volunteers to come and take pictures of newborns, Joanna said that it was as if “God sent” the opportunity her way. In what was an emotional moment for the mum-of-two, Joanna returned to the unit on World Prematurity Day in November.
Born months early, after her mum, Pat, went into labour at just 25 weeks following a bicycle accident, Joanna was just moments away from having her life support machine switched off when her aunty pled with doctors to leave it on for one more day. After her aunt’s emotional appeal paid off, Joanna made remarkable progress and has since gone on to start a family of her own with her partner and their two children in Bebington.
Joanna told the ECHO: “My auntie Michelle, she has always said ‘you’re only here because of me’, she swears that the night before they were meant to turn the machines off, everyone was meant to say their goodbyes and she said that she begged the doctors that we have 24 more hours, and then the next morning, I started breathing on my own.”
She offered a free photography session to the families currently in the unit(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Now decades later, Joanna has plied her trade working as a photographer for the last 10 years after her partner bought her a camera. But, it was actually as a child when her mum bought her a disposable camera that her love of taking pictures first began. She said: “My mum used to get me a [disposable] camera and we’d take it to the chemist and then you’d go back two weeks later and get it developed and see the pictures that you’ve got. I’ve actually got three pictures of my mum from those cameras.”
However, it was during a visit to meet her friend’s newborn baby some years ago that she first realised that she could turn her hobby into a full-time career. She added: “Since then I’ve always loved taking pictures, but then my friend had a baby and I went to Arrowe Park [hospital] to see the baby and I was just fixing the blankets and lying the baby in a certain way and asking the girls to put the lights on the torch and I took some pictures and printed them out for my friend for when she got home.”
She was born on the unit when her mum was just 25 weeks pregnant (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Sadly, it was not only her own experience of Arrowe Park’s neonatal ward that had inspired her to return last November, she said that her family has a long connection to the unit. She said: “I’ve had family members on the neonatal wards as well, my little niece was born there and she died at three weeks old. To be honest, we’ve had a few babies die in our family, I think that is maybe why it is so close to my heart, my brother passed away when he was a baby, we had, Carmel, Michelle and Bethan, my three baby cousins, who also passed away.”
She added: “So, I feel like I’m here to give a little bit back to the babies. A lot of my friends and family say that I’ve just got a magic touch with the babies, maybe God sent this my way to give a little bit back to the hospital for what they’ve done for me and my family.”
While she said that she had her “professional head on” while making her way around the unit getting pictures of the newborn babies and their families, it was once leaving the hospital that various emotions came flooding through her head. She said: “When I left, I think that the reality kicked-in of what my mum, aunty and friends had been through, what these ladies [in the neonatal unit] are going through. You just go along with your life and it doesn’t really affect you until you’re there and I know it’s been a part of my life, but obviously it’s been 40 years and I’ve had both of my babies and I was lucky enough that we were in and out, we didn’t have to go to the neonatal unit.”
She said that she wanted to “give a little bit back” to the people in the unit(Image: Liverpool Echo)
She added: “When I got home and everything had settled down, it hit me how important it is and how much help they need, they need donations. They’re an amazing unit up there, they were very family orientated, it felt like they were all a family, which was lovely.”
Thanking Joanna for offering her free photography sessions, Janelle Holmes, chief executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, has offered her thanks. She said: “Joanna’s story is incredibly moving, and we are grateful that she chose to come back to our neonatal unit to support families. Her journey from premature baby to successful photographer is inspiring, and we are proud that Arrowe Park Hospital played a part in her story.”
She added: “Her photographs will provide treasured memories for parents during what can be an emotional and challenging time. Our neonatal staff work tirelessly to care for some of the tiniest and most vulnerable babies, and Joanna’s generosity has meant a great deal to the team.”