Parents run Great North Run for Tommy's after suffering tragic stillbirth

In 2014 Lynsey and Mark Bell’s son Rory was stillborn at over 32 weeks after Lynsey developed severe pre-eclampsia.

Having suffered with the pre-eclampsia in her previous three pregnancies, Lyndsey was classed as high risk and given regular urine tests and blood pressure checks. Tragically, however, baby Rory was stillborn after Lynsey’s condition worsened and caused her placenta to detach from her womb. Her pre-eclampsia was so severe that Lynsey's own life was put at risk.

Following their experience of stillbirth, Lynsey and her husband Mark went on to raise nearly £3000 for Tommy’s in the 2015 Great North Run.

Lynsey and Mark wanted to:

‘Raise funds needed to research stillbirth for Tommy’s, the baby charity because we don’t want another family suffering like us.’

We want to thank Lynsey and Mark for supporting  Tommy’s and for helping  to raise awareness around stillbirth. They have shared their heart-breaking story and touching photographs of them with baby Rory with The Mirror.

Pre-eclampsia is a condition which affects 2-8 percent of pregnancies and is a combination of raised blood pressure and the presence of protein in your urine. If left untreated, this condition can be dangerous to both mother and baby.

If you are concerned about being at risk of pre-eclampsia you can read more about the condition here or speak to a Tommy’s midwife on our free PregnancyLine 0800 0147 800.

You can read the whole of Lynsey, Mark and baby Rory’s story here.

Read more about pre-eclampsia here.

Read about our research into stillbirth here.