Write A Letter of Hope
Thank you so much for your interest in writing and sharing a letter! Below is our submission guide, as well as a contact form. If we select your letter, we will be in touch with you via email for any additional needed information, as well as a media release! You can also send us an email directly at letters@dearnicumama.com. Thank you!
Our April letter prompt is:
“Dear NICU Mama, I know you can do this because _____________.”
Our April letter submission window is now open through March 13th!
How to Submit a Letter
Wanting to write a letter? Here are the steps on how to submit your letter:
- Review our letter submission guide
- Submit your letter of hope using the contact form below
- Send us your story and photos in an email to letters@dearnicumama.com
Letter guidelines and things to note:
- Stories should briefly summarize your NICU stay
- Include at least one photo of you and your baby together in the NICU. We also welcome recent photos, too!
- Please send original photos for the best image quality
What We Look for in a Letter
We publish weekly hope-filled letters written by NICU mamas for NICU mamas on our blog and social media channels!
To write a letter, our guidelines are:
- All of the letters we publish begin with a prompt we provide. These prompts change monthly, so check back regularly!
- Submissions are open for two weeks each month with a new letter prompt. Head here for our current prompt and submission window.
- We welcome letters of all lengths. Due to the limitations of Instagram captioning, letters are limited to 2,200 characters or fewer.
- Letters should be free of grammar and spelling errors
- Dear NICU Mama’s tone is gentle and affirming. We value:
- Inclusivity of sisterhood
- Duality of emotion
- HOPE
Letter Writing Tips
Wanting to write a letter? Here are the steps on how to submit your letter:
- Visit Dear NICU Mama’s Letter Page or search the hashtag #dearnicumamaletters on Instagram to get a feel for the types of letters we have published in the past.
- Address the NICU mama reading your letter directly. Although you may not know the specific details of her situation, you can draw from the many experiences NICU mothers share.
- Save personal details from your own story for the story portion of your submission.
- Allow for the duality of emotion.
- Instead of “Stay positive!” try “it’s okay to feel both ___ and ____.”
- Instead of “Be grateful!” try “You may be grateful for ____ and also grieve ____”
- Aim to affirm rather than reassure the NICU mama you’re writing to.
- Instead of “Don’t worry,” try “When/if you find yourself worrying, please remember _____.”
- Instead of “Everything will be OK,” try “The future may be uncertain, but you are ____.”
- Avoid giving advice
- Always offer hope, especially when acknowledging the more difficult parts of NICU motherhood.
- Instead of “You will struggle,” try “You may struggle, but _____.”
- Make sure your submission is complete! A complete submission includes a letter, brief summary of your story, and photos.
Letter Selection Process
Each month, Dear NICU Mama’s Editorial Team reviews letter submissions and selects 4-5 letters for publication. Letters are reviewed for quality, uniqueness, representation, and fit within our editorial calendar. If your letter is selected for publication, you will receive an email from us within 3-4 weeks. Our Editorial Team edits each letter for clarity, punctuation, grammar, and spelling to meet our style and tone guidelines listed above. We occasionally work with mamas on more substantial revisions. Authors retain rights to their letter, story, and photos. Please credit us as the original publisher if shared again elsewhere
Many of the mothers who submit to us say they find value in writing a letter, even if it isn't selected for publication. If you do not hear from us, we encourage you to check back for the next month's letter prompt and consider revising and resubmitting.
We are so grateful for the overwhelming interest in letter submissions and want to encourage you to keep writing!