Who doesn’t love sending a beautiful flower arrangement as a gift? Whilst it may be a present that many give, there are so many options to choose from, with sizes, varieties and colours forming a huge spectrum. In addition to that, certain flowers carry different meanings and symbolisms, adding an extra dimension for the recipient. This is why at life’s most important moments, a bunch of flowers or some other kind of floral arrangement makes such a fantastic choice of a gift. But when thinking of a gift for a friend who has just had a baby, what should you bear in mind?
1. Immune systems – both mother and baby will be recovering from one of the biggest upheavals their bodies will ever experience, and part of this is their immune systems returning to being fully operational. This means that they can be particularly sensitive to allergens, and pollen from fresh flowers could well be problematic for them.
2. Possible reactions and long-term effects – pollen allergies are usually expressed in respiratory or skin reactions, which is something none of us would inadvertently want to create for our friends and their babies. Also, in more serious cases, it is possible for this to leave them with asthma in the long term. In fact, many NHS post-natal wards do not allow flowers to be brought as gifts by visitors as they say it creates risk of infection.
3. Types of pollen – not all flowers are as likely to cause problems as others because the size of the pollen and the way it spreads can vary. Some pollens are easily blown through the air, and others have particularly large particles – whereas others don’t spread so much and are generally considered to be less likely to cause allergic reactions. An example of flowers which are often recommended to be avoided would be lilies. On the other hand, orchids, roses and geraniums are among those that are less likely to spread pollen and create adverse reactions.
4. Flowers need to be out of reach of baby – even with the lowest levels of pollen, any fresh flowers that make it to baby’s mouth could prove to be very damaging, so they would need to be positioned out of their reach. As this is something you cannot control, you might want to think about if this kind of positioning will be something your friend can achieve before giving them a bouquet.
5. Removing the pollen – some flowers, such as lilies, have pollen in places that are very easy to access and potentially even remove. So if you think you would still like to give flowers, but want to reduce the risk, why not buy them with enough time to take out the stalks with the pollen on, before you give the flowers to your friend? Or even better, if buying from a florist, could you ask them to remove these before they are delivered/collected?
6. Pollen-less real flowers – Yes, there is really such a thing! Why not consider using dried flowers as an alternative? There are many fantastic choices of dried flower arrangements that can be found in places like Etsy. Alternatively, here at Little Blooms, we create fantastic baby bouquets, unique in the UK for combining real Forever Flowers which can last several years, with items of baby clothing swirled and nested among them to make a fantastic baby gift they will never forget.
We hope the tips above are useful to help you balance finding a beautiful gift with safety suggestions. We’re sure that with all the thought you are putting in to finding that perfect baby gift (the fact that you’ve read this blog just shows that!), your loved ones will be touched by whatever you choose to gift them!
