Good Morning Britain's Laura Tobin has opened up about her ambitions for her three-year-old daughter Charlotte in an exclusive interview and photoshoot with HELLO! magazine. "I genuinely want her to change the world," Laura, 38, says. "I know that sounds extreme, but I always thought that if I had a daughter, I would want her to be formidable, empowering and break boundaries."
She adds: "I guess my dream is that she'll become a paediatric neonatal consultant and give back to all the people who helped her."
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WATCH: Behind the scenes with Laura Tobin and her adorable daughter Charlotte
Born at 27 weeks and weighing just 2lb 8oz, Charlotte Blossom Eva spent her first 83 days being cared for in hospitals. It was an intensely emotional period in their lives that Laura and her husband Dean Brown keep largely private.
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Laura Tobin and her daughter Charlotte
"We probably have been more protective of Charlotte than if she had been a full-term baby," Laura tells HELLO!. "With most premature babies who are born really early, their lungs don't function properly, which makes them much more susceptible to colds and coughs and other illnesses. The advice is basically to do what we've all been doing for much of this year, which is to lock down."
The weather presenter adds: "I now realise that the approach we took was quite extreme, but I just didn't want our baby girl to get poorly."
The GMB star is a doting mum
Laura has joined forces with former Miss England Georgia Jones to shine a spotlight on a new campaign, Soothing the Smallest, a collaboration between antiseptic cream Sudocrem and premature baby charity Ickle Pickles that aims to raise funds for vital neonatal equipment through the sale of My Ickle Sudocrem pots, which will be sold in Boots and Tesco stores across the UK for six weeks from 26 August.
Laura says that knowing her GMB colleagues were there for her during the tough times meant so much to her. Recently, the gang have pulled together again to support their friend Kate Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper has been fighting for his life in hospital.
Laura is supporting the Soothing the Smallest campaign, a collaboration between Sudocrem and charity Ickle Pickles
"Everyone was just so happy when Kate came back to work," says Laura. "As a friend and colleague, you just want to help in any small way possible and I know myself that when you come home at the end of a long and emotional day and you get a little message, spurring you on, it does give you a boost."
Visit icklepickles.org
Read the full interview in this week's issue of HELLO!
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