Around one in two hundred and fifty pregnancies in the UK ends in a stillbirth. That equates to about eight babies every day. Those are the shocking statistics that come from the UK’s largest charity who specialise in the researching of the causes and preventions of pregnancy complications, miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth. Following it’s creation in 1992 at St Thomas’s Hospital in London by two obstetricians, Tommy’s Charity began a campaign to help raise funds to enable more pregnancy research projects.
Five years later they managed to open the UK’s first ever pregnancy research centre which helped to bring in to focus issues such as pre-eclampsia and premature birth. Every October, around the world we mark Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month to help educate and raise awareness of the different complications that can occur during pregnancy and find out different ways to prevent such incidents occurring. Star Legacy’s October #NeverBeStill campaign and social media toolkit is looking to break the silence surrounding stillbirth and other pregnancy/infant losses by educating the public about finding ways to support bereaved families and also empower expectant mothers to have a healthy pregnancy.
The toolkit includes a number of different sections with further in depth information in to the causes and different ways they can help prevent any pregnancy related condition. This should help ensure that women have all the information they need to have a healthy pregnancy with little or no complications.
In America, many, many thousands of families are devastated each year by the death of a baby. A family’s grief and the value of a baby’s life are very rarely acknowledged. In 1988, US President Ronald Reagan declared October as a month to recognize the unique grief of bereaved parents in an effort to demonstrate support to the many families who have suffered such a tragic loss. Raising awareness of pregnancy and infant loss increases the likelihood that grieving families will receive the care and support they need in difficult times. This will help ensure that they do not feel isolated at a very distressing time in life. It also results in improved education and prevention efforts which can also prevent such distressing incidents from happening in the first place.
In the past many events have taken place to mark the month. These include inviting people to light a candle and leave it burning for at least one hour. This helps everyone to remember all babies who have died too soon and ensure bereaved families are given a sense of comfort and support.
Speaking with Mairead, I found a common thread in our grief – this subject is just not talked about enough. As with most grief and trauma, when it’s not talked about, silence can lead to shame and sometimes depression. We need to be allowed to grieve our babies as any other parents would, and talk openly about our feelings.
Mairead has seen first-hand the more severe problems that this silence and lack of awareness can lead to. When William was born, Mairead and her partner Harry, were fortunate enough to be supplied with a cool cot. A cool cot is a piece of medical equipment that creates a refrigerated cot and allows parents valuable time with their babies. When your child is born sleeping, this extra gift of time is so precious; it allows parents to create memories which will be held so dear. While Mairead and Harry were fortunate enough to be able to use this cot, the hospital only had one available and therefore another couple sadly had to go home and then return. This situation needs to be improved so more families can be helped and not go through such difficult circumstances.
If you’d like more information on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Aware Month, please visit:
October 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month NeverBeStill (starlegacyfoundation.org
