For Every Baby
Baby Loss Awareness Week which runs from 9th to 15th October. This year seeks to raise awareness around pregnancy and baby loss and reduce the stigma and silence around it.
As this Campaign Week comes to a close on 15 October 2022 at 7pm our NHS hospitals in Musgrove Taunton and Yeovil Hospital are honouring little lives lost. Read about their involvement Breaking the Silence Around Baby Loss
We too will be taking part in the ‘Wave of Light’ on Saturday 15 October in our office in Minehead. Our candle will be lit for an hour by our tree of remembrance to commemorate much lived and missed babies.
Baby Loss Week’s 20th Year
This year sees the 20th year raising awareness of baby loss and the importance of bereavement support throughout the journey of grief.
Its important to recognise that we are all different so our grieving experience will be unique and personal to each of us, and that applies to parents to. The theme this year is ‘Stepping Stones’ which highlights the relevance that each parent or family may take different steps in their grief journey, large or small, and will likely to look differently from others surrounding the family.
With any loss, people sometimes find it hard what to say offering condolences, sympathies, and words of offering hope for the future. Some people don’t say anything at all, because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing, or as our human nature often wants us to make things better, well intentional words such as ‘everything happens for a reason’ can be distressing to parents to hear.
Ideally words of comfort such as ‘Im sorry this has happened to you’ can make all the difference. Often parents find comfort in talking about their baby, why they choose their name for example, and having conversations with any other children in the family can be positive as they may not fully understand, so answering questions can bring comfort for them. Children can grieve at different times to adults, for some they will wait until their parents have gone through their grieving, to feel okay to then express their own.
Honouring a Life
There are many ways to honour a memory of a baby that has been lost. A supportive funeral director who is trained in bereavement support will be able to sit with the parents, listen, and make suggestions from cuddle cots, planting a tree, a personalised funeral service with an experienced celebrant, and memorial keepsakes that not only may bring comfort, but are ways to pay tribute to their short life.
To Connect
We know that grief can be isolating. We offer social bereavement coffee afternoons aimed to help community of bereaved come together in a safe environment, to share stories, to gain comfort of understanding within a time to feel connected. These facilitated times are open to parents too as we understand that a baby will always be part of their life so these supportive informal times over a cuppa reaches out to all, regardless of if they have used our funeral services or not.
Informative Links
https://babyloss-awareness.org/
https://www.facebook.com/suzisupport
In the News
Thank you to West Somerset Free Press for helping us to raise awareness of this heartfelt topic within our local community
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