OUR SUPPORT
Further Support
The organisations below have and continue to provide many parents and families with invaluable support during pregnancy and infant loss. The Lily Mae Foundation hope you find some information, comfort and support from these sites.
The Maternal Mental Health Service (MMHS) supports women/birthing people, their partners and families living in Birmingham and Solihull who have experienced perinatal loss and have associated mental health difficulties.
Our service is for women/birthing people who experience significant mental health distress which is impacting on day-to-day life (e.g., work, relationships, sleep) which is directly associated with their experiences of; miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, termination of pregnancy due to foetal abnormality, stillbirth or neonatal death.
For more information and support please visit our website
Here at Edward’s Trust we offer a holistic approach to supporting people through bereavement and loss. We offer counselling (1 to 1 or as a couple) support groups, play therapy, wellbeing therapies and social events. We are also able to offer resources and training for those wanting to support people in their grief journey. We offer support to:
Parents bereaved, or about to be bereaved, of their son or daughter – whatever the age of their child or cause of death.
Children and young people aged between 4 – 24 years who are bereaved, or are about to be bereaved, of a parent, grandparent, significant carer, sibling or friend. The age at time of enquiry will determine whether a service can be provided.
Bereaved parents/carers of a child or young person who is currently accessing support through Edward’s Trust and who also require support with their grief.
We also offer, advice, support, information and training to professionals working with bereaved families.
​Our aim is to provide financial relief and assistance to people in the UK who cannot afford a memorial headstone or plaque for their stillborn baby, born after 24 weeks of gestation. We aim to do this by providing funding towards the costs of a memorial headstone or plaque; and to relieve the mental and emotional distress of newly bereaved mothers by the provision of memory bears, in particular but not exclusively those in Hereford Hospital’s labour ward and raising awareness of the impact of pregnancy and baby loss with a view to bringing comfort to bereaved parents and their families after the loss of a baby.
We also offer support and equipment for Hereford Hospitals labour ward.
A headstone is the last practical act a parent can do for their angel child and we want to help those who would struggle to fulfil this. After all it is a parent’s instinct to protect their child and a grieving parent’s instinct to protect their child’s memory.
Arranging a funeral for a child is something no-one can imagine having to do. And at a very emotional time, financial pressures in paying funeral expenses can add to the distress.
Child Funeral Charity (CFC) assists families financially in England and Wales who have to arrange a funeral for a baby or child aged 16 or under. Whilst many funeral directors, the clergy and most celebrants do not charge fees, there are other funeral related expenses that bereaved parents struggle to find. Financial support is available from us to help with such funeral costs, together with practical advice and guidance.
​Whilst relaying your problems to another individual has been a basic human remedial response for centuries, talking therapies only started to be considered as serious ‘therapeutic’ interventions at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then counselling and psychotherapy have come an extraordinarily long way, and though there is still much work to be done in stamping out mental health stigma, more and more individuals are beginning to feel comfortable and confident enough to come forward and seek help for their problems.
Though this is extremely positive, we understand that taking those first steps, doing that research, choosing a qualified practitioner and initiating contact can be a daunting process – especially if you don’t know where to look, or indeed, what it is that you are looking for.
At Counselling Directory, they know how important it is to find the perfect counsellor, and they are dedicated to making that process as simple as possible, providing individuals in need with all of the information they require to make the most well informed decisions.
w: www.counselling-directory.org.uk
t: 0844 803 0252
fb: www.facebook.com/CounsellingDirectory
tw: www.twitter.com/Counselling_UK
When a baby dies suddenly and unexpectedly, the death is a terrible shock and can be one of the most distressing events that can ever happen. If you are reading this because you have experienced the death of a baby we offer you our deepest sympathies. We offer confidential support to anyone affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or young toddler. This is available immediately or at any later time in your lives. This support is for families, friends, carers and professionals. We have different ways of supporting you through this difficult time; we provide a range of services and can provide details of other organisations which might be helpful.
If you would like the opportunity to talk freely, for as long as required, with a sympathetic and understanding listener please call our Helpline:
t. 0808 802 6868e. support@lullabytrust.org.uk
Calls to our Helpline are free from all landlines and most mobile phone networks.
The Helpline is open:
Monday – Friday 10am-5pm
Weekends and public holidays 6pm–10pm
(answered by trained befrienders, all with personal experience of bereavement)
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The Helpline does not offer a formal counselling service but offers the support of our team of befrienders. Befrienders are themselves bereaved parents, grandparents and other relatives, who offer personal support which can be arranged via the Helpline. The befriender will contact you by phone or email, though face-to-face meetings may also be possible.
Stillbirth and neonatal death charity, supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby and promoting research to reduce the loss of babies lives.
ARC is the only national charity which provides non-directive support and information to expectant and bereaved parents throughout and after the antenatal screening and testing process.
Aims of the campaign: To promote October 15th as National Baby Loss Awareness Day within the UK. To promote the annual “Global Wave of Light” events and services where parents can acknowledge their losses. To promote awareness and understanding of the impact of pregnancy and baby loss among health and social care workers and the community at large.
The Saying Goodbye services have been created by Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates, who have personally suffered the loss of five babies. The services are being organised and managed by CCEM, which is an International Event Management company owned by Zoe and Andy. The services are being run in partnership with the Miscarriage Association, which is one of the UK’s leading charities working in this field.
(CBC) provides specialised support, information and training to all those affected when a baby or child dies, or when a child is bereaved. By learning continuously from children and parents, CBC leads the way in improving the quality of care offered by professionals to such families, both in the immediate crisis and in the time following the death of someone important in their lives. They provide a wide range of training courses and award-winning resources for families and for professionals from the NHS, emergency services, schools, social care and the voluntary sector.
Tommy’s funds research into pregnancy problems and provides information to parents. We believe it is unacceptable that one in four women will lose a baby during pregnancy and birth. When a pregnancy fails or a baby dies, the families affected can be devastated and often have a desperate need to know why. Frustrated at the lack of research that meant they could rarely answer this question, two obstetricians working in the maternity unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London were inspired to start fundraising for more research into pregnancy problems. Soon, their cause was taken up by others and a charity affectionately known as ‘Tommy’s’ (after St Thomas’ Hospital) was born.
That was 1992. Today, we lead the way in maternal and fetal research in the UK. To give every baby the best chance of being born healthy, we work to fund medical research into the causes of premature birth, stillbirth and miscarriage. We fund three research centres in the UK, including St Thomas’ in London, St Mary’s in Manchester and the recently established Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, which focus their research efforts on different issues relating to pregnancy.
We also feel it’s important to raise awareness of the facts and to provide free, accurate and up-to-date information for medical professionals and parents-to-be. This includes a dedicated telephone midwife service, a comprehensive website and free books and leaflets dedicated to promoting health in pregnancy and pre-pregnancy.
We are supported by people who want to do something about the lack of research and information around pregnancy issues like miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth. We believe every parent has the right to a healthy pregnancy and baby.
Our target is to halve the number of babies that die during pregnancy or birth by 2030.