Remembrance Service to take place at Altnagelvin Hospital for Baby Loss Awareness Week

The Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) is supporting Baby Loss Awareness Week, which runs from 9-15 October, by holding a Service of Thanksgiving and Acknowledgment for our babies and children, hosted jointly by the Maternity and NNICU teams in conjunction with the Chaplaincy Team.

The Service will be held on Sunday, October 13 at 3pm in Lecture Theatre 1, MDEC Building, Trust Headquarters, Altnagelvin Hospital, Londonderry with refreshments provided.

Losing a baby, at any gestation, is surrounded with untold heartbreak and can be a very distressing experience. The kind of care that women or couples receive from their hospital, GP or Midwife can make a real difference to how they cope with the experience of pregnancy loss. With the introduction of a Childbirth and Pregnancy Loss Specialist Midwife, the Western Trust has taken steps in order to improve the care given in our hospitals.

Speaking about Baby Loss Awareness Week Melissa Crockett, Western Trust Childbirth and Pregnancy Loss Specialist Midwife said: “Baby Loss Awareness Week is an opportunity for parents and families to remember and commemorate their precious babies who have died, knowing that many other bereaved parents are experiencing similar emotions.

Melissa continued: “It is not only a vital part of the grieving process for these parents but this week can be used to highlight pertinent concerns surrounding pregnancy loss and reiterate to the wider community the continuing improvements being made in bereavement support; for example the commencement of my role as Childbirth and Pregnancy Loss Midwife. One element of this role will be to bridge the gap between bereaved families and hospital staff following the loss of a baby and to assist in providing immediate and also long term sensitive care and support to all involved.”

Baby Loss Awareness Week culminates on October 15, which is known as International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance day and is recognised across the world.

To celebrate this you can join with other families across the world in the global ‘Wave of light’. Simply light a candle at 7pm local time and leave it burning for at least 1hour to join in remembering all babies that have gone too soon.

You can also join the virtual Wave of Light at 7pm local time on October 15. To get involved take a photo of your candle and post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram using #WaveOfLight

Wherever you light your candle, you will be joining a global ‘Wave of Light’ in memory of all the babies who lit up our lives for such a short time.

For information on the support available for you or someone you know, please visit: www.westerntrust.hscni.net or www.sandsni.org