Tommy's launches The Baby Loss Series

Tommy’s, in partnership with Stillbirth Stories, has launched The Baby Loss Series, a series of animated audio interviews with people affected by baby loss.

Tommy's news, 11/10/2018

1 in 4 parents experiences the loss of a baby in pregnancy, birth or shortly afterwards. The Baby Loss Series from Tommy’s in partnership with Stillbirth Stories is a series of animated audio interviews with people affected by baby loss. It will be launched during Baby Loss Awareness Week to highlight the importance of breaking the silence around baby loss by sharing stories and experiences.

Throughout Baby Loss Awareness Week bereaved parents, their families and friends, unite with each other and others across the world to commemorate their babies’ lives.

This year during Baby Loss Awareness Week, Tommy’s has partnered with Stillbirth Stories to work with animators to illustrate interviews carried out with people affected by the loss of a baby. We want to remember babies lost, listen and share people’s stories, told in their own words. We believe this will engage others with this taboo subject in a way that statistics and facts alone cannot.

Each short film is a beautiful animation that combines audio interviews from the Stillbirth Stories archive and creative input from a group of animators, weaving together practical and emotional support. The films are interviews with people who have gone through baby loss on the following themes:

  • Coping with grief
  • Having a post-mortem
  • Creating memories
  • Planning a funeral
  • Recurrent miscarriage
  • Trying for another baby
  • Remembering your baby

Help us break the silence

There are two things you can do to help us #BreakTheSilence this Baby Loss Awareness Week:

  1. Share The Baby Loss Series far and wide:
    • use the hashtags #TheBabyLossSeries, #BLAW2018 #BreakingTheSilence
    • link your posts and tweets to www.tommys.org/blaw, where the series is hosted
  2. Share your story.

Information and support

If you have been affected by anything you've seen in the animations, or if you're finding Baby Loss Awareness Week tough you can call our midwives Mon-Fri 9am-5pm on 0800 0147 800. Alternatively, please visit our baby loss support information for emotional and practical advice after loss.

About Tommy’s

Tommy’s is the largest pregnancy and baby charity in the UK. Wefund research into pregnancy problems and provide pregnancy health information to parents-to-be. We believe it is unacceptable that one in four women lose a baby during pregnancy and birth. With five research centres across the UK investigating the causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, we lead the way in maternal and fetal research in the UK.

Our pregnancy health information is provided through the midwife-led Tommy’s Pregnancy Health Service, which includes our comprehensive pregnancy information website, our Tommy’s Midwives facebook page and our free Midwives helpline, the PregnancyLine. We believe every pregnancy should have a happy ending and that every baby should have the best chance of being born healthy.

www.tommys.org

About Stillbirth Stories

Stillbirth Stories is an oral archive and a unique collection of interviews with parents and clinicians talking about their experiences of stillbirth. It was founded by two women who have both experienced stillbirth. Emma Beck is a former factual television producer who worked at the BBC and in the independent sector. In 2010, her second child, Mary was stillborn. Her personal experience of other people’s reactions left her feeling isolated after her daughter’s death. It is her hope that Stillbirth Stories will inform people and help to breakdown the silence, surrounding stillbirth. Nicola Gibson worked at the BBC for 12 years as a documentary producer/director before setting up an online media production company with the aim to ‘share life on film’. Her professional passion was born from the death of her first-born daughter, very shortly after birth 25 years ago. Co-creating Stillbirth Stories is her way to help others understand the subject of stillbirth and the impact it has on people’s lives.

In 2016 Emma and Nicola developed and produced the BBC Radio 4 documentary, We Need to Talk About Stillbirth, which aired in July 2016. “This was a programme with dignity; moving and informative. Its tone was perfect.” The Observer

Stillbirth Stories is an audio archive funded by Wellcome. It is a unique collection of interviews with parents and clinicians talking about their experiences of stillbirth. www.stillbirthstories.org

For more information please contact Tommy’s press office on 0207 398 3436 or email [email protected] 

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