A dad is working 70-hour weeks to keep a roof over his family's head as his baby son fights for survival.
Lorry driver Gary Milligan says he is trapped in a cycle of unrelenting financial pressure after his little boy was born 13 weeks premature, weighing just 1lb 6oz. His wife Monica Sheen, 34, has given up her job as an NHS nurse to be with little Alfie full-time as he battles for his life at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QUEH).
But the 33-year-old dad says the lack of support for families in their heartbreaking position means he can't to take time off work to be with his family and pay the mortgage, the Daily Record reports.
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Gary spoke out as the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill was introduced by Scottish MP Stuart C McDonald, and aims to provide parents with an additional 12 weeks of paid leave while their newborns are in hospital. It has been backed by the UK Government.
He believes new legislation will help families during some of the difficult times of their lives.
Baby Alfie spent nearly five months at Wishaw Neonatal Unit before being moved to the QUEH. His little lungs have collapsed and he has been resuscitated multiple times.
Gary said: "Alfie has been resuscitated so many times since he was born eight months ago. We have no idea when we will be able to bring him home.
"Monica was on maternity pay but when that came to an end we had to decide if she should go back to work or if I should take unpaid leave to be with our son. She has now quit her job. I'm not able to take time off work, even if I wanted to because Alfie wouldn't have a home to go back to.
"We couldn't afford to pay for our mortgage. Alfie is very ill, and we've had to deal with the emotional and financial stress. It has been a nightmare.
"Monica is basically a single parent at the moment. I have been in some dark places over the last few months due to the pressure.
"People ask if we are coping, but I don't think we are. We're just existing right now."
New Glasgow parents Lyndsey and Russell Petrie were under similar pressure when their son Adam was born at 29 weeks in 2017. Lyndsey spend most days at the QUEH neo-natal unit alone during the first four months of her little boy's life when Russell had to return to work after two weeks.
She said: "I felt robbed of that time with my son as my maternity leave started as soon as he was born, although I couldn't bond with him. I just looked at him through a partition.
"It was difficult by myself as his life was hanging in the balance at that time. We couldn't take the financial hit so Russell had to go back to work.
"It was a very traumatic time and we didn't realise the psychological impact it had on us both until months later. It's very welcoming to hear parents will now get help as that extra time will compensate for what was lost. It is the right thing to do."
When it is introduced into law, the act will be available to employees from their first day in a new job and will apply to parents of babies who are admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days, and who have a continuous stay in hospital of seven full days or more. It will also help employers who want to better support staff members whose children are receiving neonatal care after birth.
Stuart C McDonald, MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East said the new legislation will give struggling parents the support they need in addition to their maternity and paternity leave
He said: "No parent should have to choose between being with their premature or sick baby in neonatal care and having to return to work to earn a living; or enjoying the full benefits of parental leave and going back to work. With the cost-of-living soaring, it is more important than ever that we secure an urgent change in the law so that parents of babies in neonatal care get the paid leave and support they need at an incredibly challenging time."
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