We’ll never forget them
Three brave couples share their experiences of stillbirth…
The UK has one of the worst rates of stillbirth in the developed world, and to highlight the hidden crisis, three extraordinary couples have allowed cameras to follow them during one of the most heart-wrenching periods of their entire lives.
As Vicki and Bruce arrive at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, for a check-up, they are given the heartbreaking news that their baby Ruby’s heart has stopped at just 26 weeks.
Devastating
‘It never in a million years occurred to me that something bad would happen,’ says Vicki. ‘It feels so surreal we won’t take our little girl home.’
Cameras follow the pair as they say goodbye to Ruby, right through to her funeral and the impact of her loss – they split up in the weeks that follow.
‘The rest of the world keeps on turning, but my world has stopped,’ says Vicki. ‘We’d planned our lifetime with Ruby – I physically ache for her.’
‘I couldn’t deal with it,’ admits Bruce. ‘I had to be on my own.’
Hope and fear
Meanwhile, mum Kezia is filmed as she prepares to give birth to her son, Joshua, and his twin sister, Grace, who died in the womb at 25 weeks.
We also meet Fiona and Niall, who are anxiously expecting their second baby after their daughter, Matilda, was stillborn at 41 weeks last year.
With scans suggesting that Fiona’s placenta is failing, she has an early C-section – a year to the day after Matilda’s birth. Will it be the outcome they both long for?
‘Every moment of this is going to remind us of what we didn’t have with Matilda,’ says Fiona.
‘In my heart of hearts I just think, “This can’t happen to us again”.’