The Miscarriage Association website has recently been updated to include our pregnancy loss cards, as well as a new page and leaflet on supporting someone you know – all resources to help people find the right words.

Miscarriage Association trustee, Laura, who was involved in creating these new resources, says, “Following my miscarriages some people acknowledged my loss and helped break down the isolation I was feeling. I will always remember what they did. I still have the cards and keep them as a memento of a much cherished life. There were also others in my life who felt unable to acknowledge my loss and ignored it. Sadly I remember that too.”

The M.A.’s pregnancy loss cards were launched earlier this year, and aim to help people feel better equipped to support family, friends or colleagues who miscarry. These cards, which are now available via the M.A.’s online shop, each carry a thoughtful, handwritten message by women who have been through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or molar pregnancy themselves. They also include the Miscarriage Association’s contact information for anyone seeking help, guidance and support.

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This year, the campaign focus is on the lack of timely access to psychological therapies for people who need extra mental health support following pregnancy or baby loss. Over the next 12 months our organisations will be calling on governments at Westminster and the devolved nations to ensure that anyone who needs psychological therapy after pregnancy or baby loss, they can access it without unduly long waiting times, and on the NHS.

We are also asking people from around the UK to get involved and start conversations around baby loss, by wearing pin badges or Twibbons, asking if  their local buildings and landmarks can be lit up in pink and blue and taking part in memorial walks, services and other Baby Loss Awareness Week events.

Once again, the week will culminate with the International Wave of Light, with candles being lit at 7pm on the 15^th of October, to remember all those babies who have been lost during pregnancy, or during or soon after birth.

For more information about the week and the planned activities, see our the Baby Loss Awareness Week page on our website or our Facebook page.

Photo: Ely Cathedral lit up for Babyloss Awareness Week. Credit: James Billings Photography. 

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We are delighted that the Miscarriage Association was announced as Runner Up in the Information for Young Adults Special Award at the BMA Patient Information Awards, for our resources for young people.

The Special Awards were assigned to the best resources in 11 specific categories, with the Young Adults Special Award being a new category this year.

Our sincere thanks and congratulations go to Clare Foster who researched, planned and created the resources – a truly fantastic piece of work.

Dr Hannah R Bridges of HB Health Comms Ltd, who reviewed the resource for the BMA, noted:

 ‘Wow! This is a wonderful example how good consultation and understanding your audience can lead to great quality information!

The Miscarriage Association has identified a need for materials to support young people, who have different experiences and support needs. The consultation, planning, and promotional plans show excellence in producing health information. This shows through in the end products – high quality and extremely well-tailored to the audience.

The insight and thought that has gone into this is commendable. Take for example the ‘what happens when you call our helpline’ page – simple, highly visual, concise and reassuring information to encourage young people in need of support to dare to pick up the phone – the overall impression is one of kindness. Just wonderful.’    

Award certificate and the M.A. young people’s leaflet.              

Left to right: Barbara Hepworth-Jones (M.A. Vice Chair), Penny Kerry (M.A. Trustee), Ruth Bender Atik (M.A. National Director),  and  Professor John Temple, BMA President

There’s more about all the highly commended charities, as well as the winners and runners up at https://www.bma.org.uk/library/patient-information-awards/pia-winners.

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This year, the Miscarriage Association, along with 40 charities and groups, is aiming to have as many public landmarks as possible lit up in the babyloss colours of pink and blue, like Titan Clydebank did last year.

We’ve already had notification that the Kelpies and Colchester Castle have agreed to light up, but we need your help to spread the word.

How to get involved

1. Think about landmarks in your area, especially buildings that are already lit up. These could be town halls, libraries, museums, shopping centres, castles or even somewhere you work!
2. Contact the appropriate department and request permission (see our sample letter/email)
3. Ask your local MP and counsellor/s for their support (remember that they may have been through pregnancy or babyloss, or know someone who has).
4. Act as soon as possible! These things can take time, so now’s the time to start.

Please message us via our Facebook page or email us on awareness@miscarriageassociation.org.uk to let us know who you’ve contacted: the name and location of the landmark, and any response you receive. Please let us know, even if they say ‘no’. Our group of charities will collate this information to help us prepare for another campaign next year.

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Hundreds of people have also used social media to share the helpful and unhelpful things that others have said to them after a pregnancy loss. Some of these comments can be seen in our Facebook gallery, where they have drawn many supportive reactions from other users.

We are grateful to our media volunteers who have shared their stories so far: Sally from Liverpool who spoke on BBC Radio 5Live (05.20minutes in), Gemma from Edinburgh on BBC Radio Scotland (1.43.42 in), Jemma from Ramsgate on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour (00.46-08.52), Natasha from Romford on Talk Radio (select the 11.30-12.00 slot, 03.50 in) and Amy on BBC Radio Leicester (1.36.48 in). We will continue to share more of these stories via social media in the days and weeks ahead.

We have also been thrilled to see the campaign covered by journalists, such as Amy Swales for Stylist Magazine and Cat Cubie on Glasgow Live, as well as bloggers such as Jessica Clasby-Monk (The Legacy of Leo). We’ve seen hundreds of posts about our campaign on social media channels, from individuals who’ve experienced pregnancy loss as well as organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Patient and Client Council (NI) and Bliss. The word has even spread beyond the UK, with a request to translate our infographic into Spanish and a share of our video by ABC Babytalk in Australia.

If you would like to get involved in the #SimplySay campaign, please feel free to share your #Say or #DontSay comments via our Facebook page or use our infographic, animation or other campaign resources on your social media channels or blog. We thank everyone who has been involved so far, and hope that collectively we can help start more sensitive and supportive conversations about pregnancy loss.

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We’ve called the campaign Simply Say. And yet we know it’s not simple at all in many ways, because everyone’s experience is unique to them. Feelings, emotions, wants and needs can differ. That can make things tough for those who would like to offer support but who worry about saying the wrong thing.

Our campaign aims to make it easier for people to have those conversations. We’ll be encouraging family, friends and colleagues to acknowledge the loss and then to listen. Sometimes less is more.

Find out more on our Simply Say pages.  And do share your thoughts on social media (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) or contact us here.

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Wherever you are, it offers an opportunity to join with others in marking the brief lives of babies who died in pregnancy, at or shortly after birth or in early infancy.

This year was no exception.  Some people were telling their stories, others sharing thoughts about what helped them through after their losses and some attended events or took part in some kind of activity to mark the day. Here we mention just three of these:

A ribbon

Some people wore a specially designed pin badge and/or added a virtual pin badge to their Facebook or Twitter profile or their email signature.  Many are continuing to wear their ribbons even after 15 October.

Wave of Light, 7 p.m.

A huge number of people took part in the Wave of Light, lighting a candle or candles at 7 p.m. in their local time zone. We are creating a video of candle images which we will highlight next week, but you see  our gallery of candles from 2014 here.

If you’d still like to share a photo of your candle/s, feel free to upload it to our Facebook page. If you would like your photo to be part of a video slideshow that we will create after Babyloss Awareness Day, please just add a note ‘For the video’ when you upload it.

First Heartbeat

A documentary about recurrent miscarriage, this film follows the journey of Lisa and David as they seek answers and hope after loss. Broadcast on the TLC* channel on 15 October, it will be repeated on Sat 17 and Mon 19 October at 9 p.m..

* SKY 125, VIRGIN 167, BT 323, TalkTalk 413

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