Sweet tribute to tragic babies
THERE’S a special reason why bags filled with sweets have been popping up in and around Stockport.
They have been left in parks, beauty spots and even supermarkets for the public to find, in the hope that the random act of kindness will spread joy.
But crucially, as well as sweets and chocolates, each bag includes a card featuring the name of a baby who died before, or soon after, they were born.
Anyone who finds one of the bags is asked to read the name aloud, to help keep the little one’s memory alive - and to help tackle the silence that often surrounds infant death.
The bags have been left by parents from the Stockport branch of Sands, the national charity that supports anyone affected by the loss of a baby.
The Stockport group is run by trained volunteers who all have all experienced the loss of a baby.
The group’s secretary, Suzann Harrison, 30 and her husband Oliver lost second son Declan in 2013.
She found people often didn’t know what to say to her and is keen to help break the taboo and end the silence around baby loss.
Suzann added: “When I lost Declan, I lost friends, people would cross the street because they didn’t know what to say.”
The bags are one of a number of things the group has been doing to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, which ended with a ‘wave of light’ in which people were invited to light a candle in memory of a baby who died too soon.
The Stockport branch decided to extend the week with a party for children who have lost a sibling on Sunday at Hazel Grove High School sixth form centre.
After losing Declan, Suzann and Oliver were faced with trying to explain to their son Josh, who was almost five at the time, why his baby brother wouldn’t be coming home.
She added: “He understood that mummy had a baby in her tummy and that baby would be his little brother or sister, and mummy came home without the baby.
“A lot of the attention is on the adults, it’s never about the children, so we decided that what we did should be for them.
“It’s just about supporting these children. Some of them have come after, some have lived through the loss.”
As well as hosting a support session every month, the group, all volunteers who also have full-time jobs, are always on hand to give support via email.
For information visit the Stockport Sands Facebook group or email support. stockport@sands.org.uk