On the 30th March we were told that Henry’s heart had stopped beating. On the 1st April he was born sleeping at Burnley Hospital. We were given the opportunity to spend time with Henry in a bereavement room, away from others and Ryan was able to be with me throughout. This room had a ‘cuddle cot’ which meant that we could spend two and a half days with Henry. Without this cot, we would have had hours. They cost on average £1500 to buy and are not provided by statutory services. 

The bereavement room was set up and funded by Friends of Serenity, a charity set up by a mum who lost her little boy, Luke. We were provided with memory boxes, allowing us to take handprints and footprints of Henry, dress him and take pictures. Everything we received in the memory box is absolutely priceless and is something that we will treasure forever. 

I cannot begin to imagine how traumatic it would have been to have had to have given Henry to the midwives shortly after birth. Friends of Serenity gave us a lifeline and made the hardest few days of our lives that little bit easier. 

Nobody likes to speak about death, especially not the death of a baby. But it happens more often than we think. One in 200 babies are still born, this equates to 15 per day in the UK. Friends of Serenity have also provided the plastic wallets that you get for your antenatal notes, filled with information in an attempt to reduce stillbirths. 

My biggest fear in the weeks that have followed Henry’s birth is that he will be forgotten; that his name won’t be spoken of and people will forget his existence. However, Henry is never far from our conversations and this will continue.

Raising money, in honour of Henry for Friends of Serenity will not only help keep his name alive, but also enable others that are going through a similar tragic situation to have some much needed time with their babies before they have to say goodbye. 

If I can do anything as Henry’s mummy, I want to keep his name alive. Please share; even a pound can help and give those mummies and daddies some much needed time with their babies.