Baby Loss Awareness Week

Willow Suite at Wexham Park Hospital

Clare and Andy Ford, their children Ethan-James and Izzy, and Clare’s father joined the Baby loss team at Wexham Park for the official unveil of the Willow Suite.

The suite now gives a purposeful space for families experiencing baby loss.

Clare and Andy lost their baby 5 years ago in the room which then was a medical space.  They wanted to give back something to future patients who’s already painful loss could be slightly eased a little by changing the surrounding.  They went on to fundraise and donated a floor to ceiling mural of a beautiful meadow.  Since their loss, Wexham and Frimley Park Hospital have merged and have a dedicated lead Midwife for Pregnancy Loss at each site.

Claire Litchfield has been the Lead Midwife for Pregnancy Loss at Wexham Park for over a year, and her role is to support midwives and medical staff in delivering care for families when their babies have died.

Families will be referred to Claire for emotional and practical support following the birth of their baby and she provides postnatal visits if families would like. Our team cares for on average 75 families per year, who have experienced a range of pregnancy loss including miscarriage, stillbirth and terminations for known severe fetal abnormalities.

The vision for the Willow Suite was a space where families can spend time comfortably together, with their babies without feeling like they are in a hospital ward. Thanks to the generous donations we have received from our families and from Frimley Health Charity we are able to provide home comforts to achieve this calm and  reflective space.

Claire said;

“For me it is wonderful to be able to provide such a lovely environment for families in the darkest times, it lets families know how much we care”.

The suite official marks the Baby Loss Awareness Week. We are delighted that Clare and Andy could be there with their two wonderful children, and Izzy behaved impeccably being only 4 weeks old.

Clare said;

“To be part of today on such a milestone was an honour, not only to represent our first born Alex but also to represent Berkshire Sands. To have seen and been able to work with the Wexham team to provide a homely and non clinical room for families who have to go through this tragic loss is a privilege and we hope the suite will bring a little comfort to them.
Alex’s mural wall means there will be an everlasting piece of Alex at the place were we spent time and made cherished memories with him. The staff were amazing with us, even staying past their shift to offer support and comfort and alongside Berkshire sands have continued to support us since. It was an emotional day for both us and the staff as it affects them as they too experience the loss of the babies.”

Other donations have included the care packages, placed in the bathroom.  These contain toothbrushes, combs and other pieces donated by Emily Harrin, on behalf of her son Robert James.

Clare and Andy themselves went on to work within the Sands group and are so supportive of the Wexham Park Hospital care knowing how much the room will mean to others in the future.

Neil Dardis, our CEO and Pradip Patel, Our Chairman also attended giving praise to the teams who are with the patients during their loss and thanks to those who have donated to the suite to help those families through an extremely emotional time.