Everyday in the UK 15 babies die before, during or soon after birth.
On 22nd September 2017, I gave birth to my beautiful twin boys Mylo and Stanley. Unfortunately, they were still born. We found out quite soon during my pregnancy that our twins were identical and that they shared a placenta. This was unusual and meant that we had to be seen by a specialist every two weeks to make sure they were both growing well. In August at 26 weeks pregnant, we found out that our smallest twin Stanley had no heart beat and had died. We then went through a month of turmoil and at 31 weeks pregnant both our babies were still born.
We were lucky to have the support of an amazing specialist consultant and wonderful team of midwifes at UCLH as well as the love from our family and friends. Having said that, we were left in a position no expectant parents should be in and its fair to say that myself, Paul and our family have suffered over the last year. Every day we are reminded of what we have lost and our lives will never be the same again.
There are two reasons why I've decided to raise money for SANDS. Stillbirth continues to be a taboo subject and I've found over that last year that people find it difficult to talk to me. At my lowest and in need of support people don't know what to say. This needs to change and SANDS "Find the Words" campaign aims to encourage everyone to start a conversation with someone whose baby has died.
Losing your babies in this way is not something you hear about everyday and it's hard to feel that anyone will understand what you've been through. SANDS runs bereavement groups, has dedicated helplines and provides one to one support from people in similar situations. For me, it was the one to one support via email from a SANDS befriender called Alison who kept me going through hard times in the last year.
By raising money for SANDS I hope that in even a small way I can help make a difference to parents and families who are suffering from the effects of loss following still birth and neonatal death.
Thank you so much for your donation and ongoing support!
Emma XXX
