Forget Me Not Background

Forget Me Not has been established in Cornwall to provide a friendly and safe place for bereaved parents and their families to meet, share experiences and feel they are not alone in their grief.

The loss of a baby is devastating for any mother, her family and her wider support network, but sensitive care and support from family, friends, health and social care workers can help.  Although mortality rates are far better than they were in generations past.

National statistics show that each year in the UK around 700,000 women will become pregnant and every one of these will be offered some form of testing.

Out of these women, approximately:-

	35,000 will be told that there is a risk that their unborn baby may have a serious abnormality
	250,000 will miscarry
	32,000 will be admitted into hospital with an Ectopic pregnancy
	6,500 will have their babies stillborn, or die within the first month of life

Whether people have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, Ectopic pregnancy or medical termination due to fetal abnormality, the end result is the same, we have all lost something that we desperately wanted and loved.
Emotional support and clear information can make a real difference in helping people cope with the experience of pregnancy loss.

Midwives at the Princess Alexandra Maternity Wing, Royal Cornwall Hospital were supportive of my determination to get a local support group established.  Midwife Zoe Nelson, said, “There’s no doubt that helping parents through the initial loss of a baby is the most difficult aspect of midwife’s role and one which you never become hardened to.  We work hard meet the individual needs of each family and are able to offer some of the things that help in the immediate term, such as photographs, blessings and time with their baby but once they leave hospital we don’t often have much further contact.  A local support group provides an opportunity to talk and express emotions and for those that feel this would help them, there can be real benefit in being able to share experiences and relate to others.”

Forget Me Not is a registered charity no: 1115056