An annual memorial service will soon be held for parents of babies who have died or were born stillborn.
Scunthorpe SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society) hold a monthly support group for parents. Organiser Karen Swarbrick is also preparing for the group’s annual baby memorial service on Sunday, October 13 at St Lawrence’s Church in Scunthorpe at 4pm.
Karen, who works as a counsellor, told Scunthorpe Live: “It is important because parents want some time in the year to get together and remember their babies. It is something that has been done for a long time in Scunthorpe and they like to go to the church and have that little bit of time when their babies’ names are read out and they can quietly remember.
“We actually give them a little candle to take home so they can light it for Baby Loss Awareness Week. The 13th, when we are doing this service, is the first day of Baby Baby Loss Awareness Week.”
Losing a baby can be an incredibly isolating experience which is why people find coming together helpful. Karen added: “At SANDS we run a support group once a month. People come and they feel so much better because at SANDS they can talk to others.
“Sometimes, they think they are different, or not normal, but when they listen to other people and they feel the same they realise it affects everyone in very much the same way. There’s guilt, anger, all those kinds of feelings but it is just part of that journey and it helps to talk to others.
“The big thing with that is you can have close family and friends but if they haven’t experienced something like this they don’t really understand how it feels.”
Karen said it is for everyone affected by baby loss and people attend who have experienced third-trimester losses, newborn bereavements, and also terminations due to serious medical problems with the baby. She said everyone who runs SANDS has been bereaved and understands what it is like.
The next support meeting is on Wednesday, October 9, from 7.15-9.15pm at The Mind Rooms in Printers Yard, Fenton Street, Scunthorpe. To people who are anxious about attending, Karen said they can contact SANDS and the volunteers will offer to meet them outside and walk in with them so they “don’t have that extra burden of walking in through that door alone”.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
