Last September we learnt during a routine appointment that our baby boy had died unexpectedly at 20 weeks. His heart stopped beating; a part of me died that day too. Life unravelled quickly, but we were held together by the amazing bereavement midwife team at the N&N Hospital.

I will be running Run Norwich on Sunday 6th September alongside my brother Cal and 7-year-old daughter Freya. Together, we are raising money, in Ember's name, for the Meadow Suite. The designated bereavement suite to support families experiencing late miscarriage and stillbirth in Norwich. Sadly, our story is not that rare. Spontaneous second-trimester pregnancy loss affects around 1 in 200 low-risk pregnancies (NHS England, 2026). Approximately 2,500 babies are born still at 24 weeks or later in the UK each year (Sands, 2025).

The bereavement midwives took care of us through labour, through a particularly cruel postpartum and throughout the post-mortem investigation. They held us, cried with us and celebrated life with us. They went above and beyond to make the unbearable somewhat bearable.

The Meadow Suite is designed to be a home from home, where you have the time and privacy to deliver your still baby away from the main delivery suite. A space to say goodbye with pride and dignity. Like most NHS departments, it is underfunded. It runs on unpaid overtime, compassion and the kindness of strangers. We would like to help replenish clinical essentials, purchase newborn keepsakes and provide home comforts. On the worst day of your life you deserve a decent teabag and a box of extra soft tissues!

None of this was on my 2025 mood board. We had very little time to prepare for what happened next (unlike me, I know). The midwives, multiple infant bereavement charities and local loss parents came together to support us. I'll never forget the walk back to the car. We left hospital without our baby boy, but not completely empty handed. We took home fully stocked memory boxes, tiny baby clothes, books, journals, handprints & footprints, remembrance bears and an SD card of photographs. Freya and Rory each received a sibling pack full of age-appropriate goodies to help them process their grief in time.

Thank you to every single stranger, friend, relative and colleague who supported our family over the last year. You truly carried us. As the first anniversary approaches, I shall not let the season be cloaked in sadness. Instead, I intend to love him fiercely. Ember is our light. Forever our son in the stars ✨️ There'll be pumpkins, cake and inappropriate ghost references. Expect every shade of orange. I want to buy things that make me think of him and smile. I want to hang cards and light candles. I want to say his name a thousand times. I want my pride to be felt in every universe that lies between us. And above all, I want to raise an outrageous amount of money and pass the kindness forward.

Thank you for any donation, big or small. It will make a huge difference to so many families and give my empty arms something lovely to cling onto.

All my love,

Jess 🧡