Parents and families affected by the loss of a baby are invited to join a special online memorial service this Sunday, arranged by staff within Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.

A Time to Remember has been put together by Maternity, Neonatal, Gynaecology and Chaplaincy – Spiritual Care Team staff and will  start at 2pm this Sunday 10 October.

This online service has been pre-recorded and the following link can be accessed on the day for parents and families to view it https://youtu.be/JadIrpg09OY

Joe Fielder, Walsall Healthcare’s Chaplaincy Team Leader said: “Parents watching the service may recognise some staff members who cared for them at their time of need and our hope is that these familiar faces will be a source of comfort to them and a reminder that as a Trust we care about them and their ongoing journey of grief and recovery.

“The service will include reflection, poems, and music and people who will speak of  their own experience of loss. It is a service designed to be inclusive of everyone of all faiths, cultures and beliefs. There will be space for simple quite reflection or quiet prayer to help people of no faith and people of faith and the service is part of our support for Baby Loss Awareness Week which runs from 9-15 October.”

Laura Atkinson is Walsall Healthcare’s Specialist Bereavement Midwife and she has helped put the service together.

She said: “Baby Loss Awareness Week is a time of reflection and gives us all an opportunity to really consider those who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss. We know that such a loss has a huge impact on both bereaved parents and their wider families and communities and we want people to know that they are not alone.

“We hope our memorial service will bring some comfort to those affected as well as remind them that support is available at a time when they are ready to seek it – for some people this may not be in the immediate days and weeks afterwards but some months later. There is no right or wrong way to grieve; it is a very personal experience.”