The ultimate loss
C4, 10pm
THIS emotional documentary opens with a mother reading a poem called The Snowdrop. It’s about a flower that may not have the chance to bloom, and it is hugely poignant.
The sensitively told film, narrated by Amanda Holden whose son Theo was stillborn, follows the stories of three couples’ experiences of losing a child before birth.
One in 200 babies in the UK is stillborn, one of the worst rates in the developed world, and the couples hope to raise awareness of these hidden bereavements. It reveals the devastating impact on parents, while highlighting the urgent need for more dedicated resources for high-risk pregnancies.
In one of many heartbreaking scenes, Vicki says: “She’s still our baby,” to her partner Bruce, as she holds her stillborn daughter Ruby.
Vicki later adds: “I physically ache for her. We planned all these memories and we never actually got to make any.”
Elsewhere, we follow Fiona and Niall through a second pregnancy, after previously losing their daughter Matilda. They are terrified that the same will happen to them this time. Speaking of giving birth again, Fiona says: “It’s going to be really bittersweet and it’s going to be really beautiful, but every moment is going to remind us of what we didn’t have with Matilda.”
And elsewhere, Kezia must give birth to Joshua and his stillborn twin sister Grace. Watching her and partner Chris’s grief as they read the poem Child of Mine in front of a tiny coffin is simply devastating.
An important film that will hopefully raise much-needed awareness.