SOLIHULL parents have spoken out about the heartache of stillbirth as part of Baby Loss Awareness Week.
Mike and Trisha White alongside other parents and bereavement midwives joined forces with University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) Charity to start a conversation baby loss.
The week, which ran from October 9 to 15, saw families come together to remember their babies and talk about them.
As part of the week the UHB charity asked for donations for the Eden Suite at Heartlands Hospital – a maternity bereavement ward – and featured a series of films from families and professionals.
Mike and Trisha, who live in Hillfields, shared their heartbreaking story of how they lost two children to stillbirth.
In the film they described how the family were left ‘heartbroken, devastated and shattered’ when their son Teddy was stillborn in May 2017 at 21 weeks.
A year later their daughter Rose’s heart stopped when she was being born a week overdue.
When Trisha said her final goodbyes to her children on the Eden Suite, she cut the blankets they were wrapped in and left one half with her baby and took the other home as a memory.
Since then the couple have been adapting blankets to hand out to parents in a similar situation across the Trust and at University Hospitals Coventry.
These cuddle blankets are created by cutting a blanket in half, sewing up the edges, then tying them together with a ribbon so parents can have one half as a reminder and their baby keeps the other.
They have also raised funds for the Eden Suite.
Over the years the UHB charity has provided CuddleCots which keep the baby cool, which extends the period of time parents spend with their baby.
The charity has also provided memory packs for families and clothes for the babies to wear for their funeral.
During Baby Loss Awareness Week UHB Charity raised £285 for the Eden Suite.
Clare Beesley, bereavement midwife, said: “We want families to know that they are not alone and should they wish to access support they can contact us and we can let them know about the number of services we alongside to offer ongoing support.
“Our trust is committed to care and support those effected by pregnancy loss and has a dedicated 24 hours maternity bereavement service with specialist facilities Eden and Snowdrop.
“This is essential in providing parent-led, high quality bereavement care in a safe space for families to grieve and make choices relating to their care the care of their babies.”
