Mel Scott who has been left heartbroken since the stillbirth of her first, much loved, child Finley decided to fund a new charity Towards Tomorrow Together that aims to support others who experience the same tragedy. She has set up an online crowd funding campaign called If Your Baby Died Who Would Help? http://www.indiegogo.com/Ifyourbabydied?a=468970 which is raising funds in order to register her new charity so it can continue to work with bereaved parents.
The initiative started three years ago by supplying memory boxes to her local hospital with donations that had been taken at Finley’s funeral. The aim now is to expand the operation to include providing support such as; a ‘mentor’ who supports at the time of the loss, a special regulated ‘cold cot’ to each hospital that allows parents to spend extended time with their children and funding holistic therapies to baby-loss parents to help them cope with the range of emotions that follow a loss, as well as supporting parents during any subsequent pregnancies, which are often times high anxiety.
All of this additional support and the facilities cost at least £83,000 per year, per county, in the UK. In order to help, people are invited to share the link throughout their networks, and to contribute anything they can spare.
When Mel went into labour at 41+5 days of pregnancy, finding out that her son had died, despite an emergency caesarean and efforts to resuscitate him failing, was a life-changing event. Not only the trauma of the birth itself, but the pain, confusion and realisation of that day does not fade. Mel was lucky, her husband and Finley’s grandparents arrived and a midwife helped them all to make some important memories, including taking photographs and footprints. While Mel came to terms with the fact the Finley would not be waking up.
Thanks to the care of the staff the family have many memories that they treasure, this will not be the case for all of the 17 families that will experience this in the UK today and everyday. This important care varies from county-to-county depending on the skills of the staff, hospital policies and the extra support given by the voluntary sector in that area. The services that Towards Tomorrow Together will fill this gap and ensure that this much-needed support is provided when needed.
Anyone who would like to be part of this important campaign can donate today at: If Your Baby Died? http://www.indiegogo.com/Ifyourbabydied?a=468970
UK Health Radio (www.ukhealthradio.com) is pleased to support this wonderful charity.