‘Baby loss garden would be sanctuary for grieving parents’
MIDWIVES in Gloucestershire want to create a quiet, calm corner for families who lose their babies to grieve in peace. The staff want a Baby Loss Remembrance Garden for parents whose pregnancy does not have a happy outcome.
Nationally one in 250 UK pregnancies end in stillbirth and one in five miscarriage. Gloucestershire hospitals already have a bereavement team to help local families process what has happened but the garden would be a permanent space for them to go.
Midwives say the remembrance garden for those who died from Covid-19 has proved such a comfort they want to create a similar one for families devastated by losing a baby. Now a hospital charity is fundraising to make sure it happens.
Nikki Dobson, bereavement specialist midwife at Gloucestershire Hospitals, said: “We have a wonderful commemorative garden at the hospital created after the pandemic which has become such a place of support for people. We were inspired by this to create a dedicated new garden at the hospital for everyone affected by the loss of a baby.
“It will be somewhere for people to go and remember their babies. Where they can sit and reflect and where they can take loved ones. The garden will also be a place for hospital staff who may have been affected by baby loss or who have cared for bereaved parents to visit. It will be a space for everyone.”
Weronika Glienke-Hammett was 28 weeks pregnant when she and her husband lost their daughter Rose in May 2018 and and says Nikki and the bereavement team were “wonderful” but the garden would mean a great deal to so many parents.
The 37-year-old, from near Tewkesbury, said: “When we lost
Rose, the staff were wonderful. They were extremely kind and respectful and helped us to process what was happening. They listened to us and respected our wishes throughout.
“Once Rose was born, they enabled us to stay with her for as long as we wanted. I could read to her, cuddle her and family could come in to meet her. As soon as we were home, Nikki came to see us, and I met with her weekly after that.”
Weronika, who is also mum to Henry and Charlotte, said this new dedicated space could help parents to navigate their grief and also provide somewhere for them to take loved ones.
“This garden acknowledges the life of a baby, regardless of how short it has been. It will be a sanctuary for parents,” she said.
“We were able to have a funeral for Rose, but not all parents get this chance, especially if they lose a baby in the early stages of pregnancy. I think this is going to be a peaceful place which could help with healing. It will be space for all parents to acknowledge their feelings and their grief and to remember our muchloved babies.”
The garden is part of the new Big Plus Fund campaign by the charity to enhance the patient experience or fund new equipment over and above what the NHS can provide. It works with Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General Hospitals alongside the Stroud Maternity Unit.
Richard Smith, Associate Director at Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity, said: “This fund was created to help support projects that will improve the patient experience and transform the hospital environment wherever the need is greatest.
We are so grateful for anything people can donate at this time, no matter how big or small, as it will all help to make a real difference to patients.”
For more information visit www. gloshospitals.nhs.uk/charity or call 0300 422 3231.
In April 2021 Princess Anne opened the Covid commemorative garden at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and saw hundreds of commemorative wire dandelions at Cheltenham General Hospital, each bearing a tribute to a loved one lost to Covid-19.
I think this is going to be a peaceful place which could help with healing WERONIKA GLIENKEHAMMETT