Here at CHUMS, our Baby Loss Bereavement Service has been running for 11 years, supporting bereaved parents and families – and some bereaved grandparents – who have experienced the devastation of losing their child.
To mark Baby Loss Awareness Week and help reassure other parents that they aren’t alone, Dibby and Paul have kindly shared their experience of the support provided by CHUMS.
Dibby and Paul’s story
We were referred to Chums when we lost Harry at 22 weeks. This was our eighth loss in total.
Karen was our case worker, who helped us through this devastating time. She recognised when we were at our lowest, giving us additional support and I’m not sure where we would be today without her.
We started off with weekly sessions with Karen to talk about our losses, which gradually over time decreased in frequency to bi-monthly sessions. Karen also referred me to counselling, which was extremely beneficial to my recovery from the mental trauma that I was suffering from. My Husband had monthly one to one meeting where he could talk openly about how he was feeling.
Chums offers so many additional support networks over the one to one sessions. My husband attends a bi-monthly Dad’s group which has helped his recovery.
The memory picnics in the summer are so special and we get to make memory keepsakes in memory of our babies. The Snowdrop Remembrance service at Christmas is also special as it has enables us and other bereaved families to come together to remember our babies and give support to each other. Both of the remembrance days are so special and let people remember without any judgement from others, as everyone is there for the same sad reason.
Without chums we would have had no support at one of the most difficult times of our lives. I will always be grateful for everything they have done for us and everything they continue to do.
About Baby Loss Awareness week
Baby Loss Awareness Week runs from 9-15 October this year. Delivered by the Baby Loss Awareness Week Alliance, the campaign aims to support bereaved parents and families and to unite them with others across the world to commemorate their babies’ lives and lost pregnancies.
It is a wonderful opportunity to bring those affected together as a community and reassure anyone touched by pregnancy and baby loss that they are not alone.
If you have been affected and wish to find out more about the services being offered to bereaved families, visit the Baby Loss section of our website to find out more.
