Baby Loss Awareness Week: Bishop’s Stortford parents join worldwide wave of light

Parents mourning the loss of a child gathered in Bishop’s Stortford to take part in a worldwide wave of light to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.

The bandstand in Castle Park was the focus for the poignant commemoration last Tuesday (October 15) at 7pm. It was organised by East Herts SANDS members Ellie Argent and Megan Wickens.

After suffering from leukaemia as a child, Ellie, 22, defied the odds to conceive not once but twice.

She suffered an early miscarriage before losing her son Noah halfway through her second pregnancy on October 25 last year.

Friend Megan also suffered two early miscarriages before the safe arrival of daughter Amelie almost 12 months ago.

Together, the mums dressed the bandstand with fairy lights and invited other parents to place tributes to their own children.

Baby Loss Awareness Week enables bereaved parents to unite with others across the world to commemorate their babies’ lives and lost pregnancies. The campaign also raises awareness about pregnancy and baby loss, and drives improvements in care and support.

East Herts SANDS is a support group offering comfort and information for those who lose a child during pregnancy, at birth or soon after. It meets at the Charis Centre in Water Lane, Bishop’s Stortford.

One of the organisers, Katherine Kannegieter, said: “This year’s #WaveOfLight at the bandstand was a lovely way to bring our community together in remembrance of much-loved babies and pregnancies lost. Ellie and Megan had made the bandstand look beautiful.”

Around one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, one in every 250 babies are stillborn and almost four in every 1,000 children die in the first 28 days after birth.