New suite on maternity ward helps comfort grieving parents (From Warrington Guardian)

New suite on Warrington maternity ward helps comfort grieving parents

3:00pm Sunday 7th October 2012 in News

THE death of a baby is devastating for the parents and families involved.

But now thanks to Old Hall couple Chris and Kate Tinker, Warrington Hospital has unveiled a refurbished maternity bereavement suite to provide a more comfortable environment for heartbroken parents.

Midwife Debra Clements said: “The room is an absolute necessity for parents and it has already been used on several occasions.

“The idea was to create a homely environment that doesn’t feel like a hospital and 45 per cent of maternity units in the country don’t have a similar room for bereaved parents and families.”

Cash to revamp the room and provide ongoing maintenance was raised by Chris and Kate, both aged 36, who set up the charity Harry and Co in 2011, after the stillbirth of son Harry.

Kate said: “When we used the room it felt more like a dumping ground with deflated birth balls in one corner, the fridge freezing everything that touched it and it wasn’t as comfortable as it is now.

“We wanted to start a charity but did not know which way to go with it so when we heard the room needed new furniture that was our window to do something.”

The couple, who have been married for nine years and are also supporting the neonatal ward, said families have told them the difference the butterfly suite makes is ‘immeasurable’ and helped them deal with bereavement.

Kate and Chris, a transport refrigeration engineer, lost Harry in May 2010 after the placenta came away from the womb and said it was a huge shock.

Kate added: “After 20 weeks you think you are home and dry and nothing can go wrong.

“I think we need to educate pregnant ladies, not alarm or frighten them, that this can happen to a fraction of people and more frequently than we would like.”

Gemma Antell, who runs the charity Life After Loss, has also been helping bereaved parents with memory boxes to remember their baby.

The next Harry and Co fundraiser will be ‘an evening of glamtastic fun’ on October 12 at Roosters bar, Liverpool Road, from 7.30pm with the show starting at 8pm.