An alliance of more than 100 charities are joining together during Baby Loss Awareness Week 2021 (9-15 October) to highlight how people affected by pregnancy and baby loss can find ways to cope and build a life around their grief.
Sadly, pregnancy and baby loss are not rare tragedies, with 14 babies stillborn or dying in the first few weeks of life every day in the UK and around one in four pregnancies ending in miscarriage.(Sources: Tommy’s; Ectopic Pregnancy Trust; Sands.)
The charities are now calling on anyone affected by pregnancy and baby loss to join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #BLAW2021 to share what has helped them look after their mental and physical wellbeing.
This year’s theme of wellbeing aims to give bereaved parents and families hope by sharing the many ways in which people look after themselves after loss, as well as signposting them to the support that is available from the Baby Loss Awareness Week organisations.
Chief Executive of Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity) and Chair of the Baby Loss Awareness Alliance, Clea Harmer said: “This year during Baby Loss Awareness Week we want to help anyone touched by pregnancy and baby loss get the support they need in the way that works best for them. From the moment a baby dies, the world changes forever. There are no simple answers to grief; it is a journey to a new way of living, and the ways people find to look after their wellbeing will be different for everyone. Grief is a personal and unique emotion and so are the ways that people find to cope with it.”
Finding ways to cope after loss
Anthony Hubbard’s son Charlie was stillborn on 4th January 2019. He has found his own way to cope with his and his partner’s loss through raising funds for several charities and working with his employer to improve workplace support for anyone affected by pregnancy and baby loss.
Anthony said: “My partner woke with back pain and after she fainted in the bedroom, I called 999 and an ambulance was dispatched. She was rushed into the Royal Derby Hospital where the staff looked after her and began scanning her. After what seemed an eternity, we were hit with the words we most feared: I’m sorry, there’s no heartbeat. The world around us disappeared in an instant, we sobbed and sobbed for our little boy, pleading with the world for him to be okay.
“Over the course of the last two years I have turned my grief into the driving force behind campaigning for change, fundraising for the multiple charities that helped us and helping as many other families as possible by sharing my story and helping them to find the support they need. The positive energy I take from my grief has helped me to work with my employer on improving the support available to our workforce, creating better policies, better guidance and recognising Baby Loss Awareness Week across the group for the first time in its history.
“When I see our building light up pink and blue in October it will be my Charlie’s legacy for the world to see. My boy lives on in every conversation I have, every positive change I help to create and every person I can help. Charlie is there, watching over me and guiding me to help those I can.”
Rowan, from Brighton, experienced ectopic pregnancy loss after trying to conceive for several months. After having pain on and off over a couple of weeks, she found out she was pregnant. Following a scan, the