Pregnancy trauma inspired mum to fight for change
Campaign to improve support for parents
As Baby Loss Awareness Week begins a campaign asking for more support for grieving parents is being sent to Parliament. The proposal formed by the Baby Loss Awareness Alliance was developed by charities from across the UK, including one in Detling.
Making Miracles, founded by mum-of two Kelly Wells, provides families with counselling services and bereavement care. She decided to set up the organisation after she had a high-risk pregnancy.
Her youngest daughter, Summer, was given a 15% chance of survival after she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition while in the womb.
The 37-year-old received the news at her routine 20-week scan on April 4, 2013.
She said: “Every day I was wondering if I was going to be giving birth to her dead.
“I put my out of office on, went to my scan and never went back to work again.
“I looked for help but couldn’t find anyone or anything to help me, so I dealt with it alone.” Just 12 weeks later she went into labour at Medway Maritime Hospital and gave birth to Summer, who weighed a tiny 3lbs 4oz.
Ms Wells added: “It was absolutely terrifying. I was not myself and when she was born it got worse. I didn’t think she was going to survive. She had died every day in my head. “I wasn’t allowed to be with her and I felt totally alone in the hospital and I was traumatised and distressed and that’s when I decided something had to change.”
In 2014, Making Miracles was set up in celebration of Summer’s life. Since then, the charity has gone from strength to strength and now wants to change the law around bereavement care by working with other organisations.
The project called Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind, aims to ensure the Government and the NHS provide any parent who has suffered pregnancy or baby loss with specialist psychological support for free..
Kelly said: “Baby loss is a really tricky subject and a lot of people don’t know how to approach it. Never avoid the parents, this make them feel more isolated. If you don’t know what to say just tell them you are there for them.”
The charity also hopes to raise enough money to support 31 bereaved families to mark Baby Loss Awareness Month. A number of events will be held throughout October to help raise funds.
To find out more, go to makingmiracles.org.uk