WORK will begin in the summer on a new building for bereaved parents at Birmingham Women’s Hospital after the fund-raising appeal successfully reached its £3million target, writes Lucy Kesseler.
The Woodland House was first proposed three years ago to provide a separate place for grieving families to go following the loss of a baby during childbirth.
The area at Birmingham Women’s, which has the largest maternity unit in the country, has been solely funded through donations from the public.
Woodland House will include a communal lounge area along with private family rooms and viewing rooms, giving parents the chance to spend time with their lost infants.
There will also be public and private gardens for reflection and space and time away from the bustling hospital.
It is hoped similar projects could be introduced in other hospitals in the UK and even further afield.
Around 2,000 families experience pregnancy or baby loss at the hospital every year.
It is believed parents’ experiences could be easier by having the chance to properly mourn with access to support and / or counselling.
Mark Brider, CEO at Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity, said: “Many of these brave families have shared their heartbreaking stories throughout the appeal, each one reflecting on how different their experience might have been, if somewhere like Woodland House had existed.
“We’re grateful to them all for inspiring more and more people to give, to make things better for our future families.
“It is vital to have a calm and peaceful area for families to process their loss as patients can feel rushed or isolated in such a loud environment.
“Woodland House will have a massive impact on our grieving families and we can’t thank our supporters enough for really championing this important cause.”
The appeal has given many parents an outlet to share their stories in hopes to inspire the creation of many similar houses all across the world.
The Women’s Hospital also offer ‘Woodland Walks’ which are sponsored and raise money towards the construction of the House.
Any ongoing public fund-raising Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity is aware of, has already been counted towards the £3million target but any additional funds will help continue to make the centre a home from home where bereaved families can forget about their surroundings.
Find out more about the Woodland House Appeal or make a donation online at bwh.org.uk/woodland-house.
Or to donate £5, text WOODLAND to 70970 (standard terms apply).
