Lincolnshire charity offering support for baby loss
Petals provides crucial support and counselling for parents facing baby loss in Lincolnshire
As Baby Loss Awareness Week approaches, Petals, the baby loss counselling charity, continues its work in providing specialist support for parents experiencing pregnancy loss or the death of a baby.
Karen Burgess, founder of Petals, outlined the importance of the awareness week: "It opens up that opportunity to talk about pregnancy and baby loss, and it gives those parents the chance to talk about their babies and use their names.
"For parents who go through this, it can feel really isolating and a lonely place".
Petals offers specialised counselling programmes to parents dealing with miscarriage, the termination of wanted pregnancies for medical reasons, stillbirths, or neonatal deaths. Burgess emphasised the isolating nature of baby loss and the stigma often attached to it, making the counselling provided by Petals invaluable in helping parents navigate these experiences.
Karen explained, "We need a pathway of care for psychological support for parents following baby loss. No parent should leave the hospital without access to psychological support to help them come to terms with what is most of the time a really traumatic time for them."
Petals positions itself as part of the care continuum, ready to step in once parents leave the hospital, and works closely with health professionals such as midwives and nurses to provide tailored counselling services. The programme facilitates healing by allowing parents to process their experiences, make peace with their altered life paths, and cultivate hope for the future.
Highlighting the significance of their work, Burgess shared: "73% of those parents coming into our service at the start have high levels of mental health distress. By the time they complete our programme of counselling, that reduces down to below 30%."
In the past year, Petals has supported over 60 couples in Lincolnshire via their charity funded services, with capacity to aid more families in need.
The charity encourages parents experiencing loss to contact them for support and urges health professionals to facilitate referrals.