We are raising money for Southend Hospital's Butterfly Suite in memory of our precious daughter Goldie and to raise awareness of Stillborn Births.

Jack and I found out we were pregnant in late 2024 and we couldn’t have been happier to be making our family complete. Our 4 year old Rosie was so excited from the very first we day we told her and she didn’t stop asking how long she had to wait until her sibling was here.

Everything was going well and we found out we were having another beautiful baby girl. This was until our 20 week scan where we were told that she had Talipes (club foot). There was concerns this was caused through genetics so I underwent an Amniocentesis along with blood tests from both of us. The results were negative for any chromosomal or genetic defects so we could continue with the pregnancy as normal and the clubfoot could be correct at birth following the Ponseti method.

We went to our follow-up appointment at 24 weeks, and again, everything was going well. There were no further concerns and baby girl was growing well.

Unfortunately at our 28 week scan, our consultant confirmed our baby no longer had any movement within her hands and they were both flexed at the wrist - this is unusual and unexpected. Our consultant then told us this is Arthrogryposis, which is congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body.

We were then sent for further scanning and it was confirmed at 30 weeks that our precious baby girl had Progressive Arthrogryposis and this would only get worse as the pregnancy continued. At 32 weeks, our last scan, our consultant confirmed that our baby was completely paralysed from the neck down, there was no movement in any of her limbs at all. I did feel her moving all the time but this was just her turning over and around which is why we didn’t know anything was wrong.

We were informed by our consultant that if we were to carry to term and give birth to our daughter, she would pass away within 10 minutes as she would not have had the capacity to breath on her own and there would be nothing the hospital could do. The extensive genetic testing we had came back with multiple negative results so there was no underlying cause for the diagnosis. So at 32 weeks 1 day, we made the extremely difficult decision to end the pregnancy. This meant our daughter would not suffer at birth and feel no pain either. Our beautiful Goldie Isabella Carter was born sleeping 3 days later on 30th April 2025.

Goldie was born in the Butterfly Suite at Southend Hospital - this is a fully equipped room for bereaved parents and families with a kitchen and bathroom and cuddle cot for families to spend time with their precious baby.

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend lots of time with Goldie and even had our parents and Rosie come and meet her before we left the hospital. The cuddle cot and suite made this possible and we couldn’t be more thankful for it as it provided special time with our baby girl. Having the cuddle cot at the hospital also meant we could return to the hospital in the days following and see our Goldie as many times we wanted until she was transported to the funeral directors.

Telling Rosie was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but she was as understanding as can be for a 4 year old. She met her little sister and loved her straight away. Rosie hasn’t stopped talking about Goldie since and is always asking to look at pictures of her.

Every midwife and staff member at Southend Hospital were incredible and the facilities couldn’t have been better. The support and kindness for the midwives made our truly awful experience a little easier. All funds raised will go towards the upkeep of the butterfly suit, along with any new/extra equipment needed. Alternately the funds will be used to provide further training to the midwives to help future families going through such awful circumstances.

Please donate anything you can and forward/share our page to your friends and families <3

Thank you for reading our story.

Lucy, Jack & Rosie

Thank you for supporting Mid and South Essex Hospitals Charity. Your support and donations will make a valuable difference to the lives of patients and staff at our hospitals. We are proud to support the work of Southend, Basildon and Broomfield Hospitals, helping enhance the service above and beyond what the NHS alone can provide. If you have informed us of your wish to support a specific ward or department we will strive to honour your wishes (this does not constitute a legal trust).Thank you for your support.