Banbury Town Hall turning pink and blue for Baby Loss Awareness Week 2021

Baby Loss Awareness Week, now in its 19th year, is an opportunity for bereaved parents, families and their friends, to commemorate babies’ lives, raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss, and to drive for improvements in both care and support for those affected and to save babies’ lives in the future.

Karen Hancox, from Oxfordshire Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity), said: “We hope turning Banbury Town Hall pink and blue will spark conversations about baby loss and give local bereaved parents and families an opportunity to talk about their precious babies.

"We hope it will help them feel a little less isolated whilst coping with their devastating and tragic loss.

"We are very grateful to Banbury Town Council who have supported the campaign by illuminating the town hall on 9th October to start this special week and also on 15th October, to tie in with the global Wave of Light, when everyone around the world is invited to light a candle at 7pm in remembrance of all babies gone too soon."

This year Baby Loss Awareness Week will be exploring the theme of wellbeing and sharing what has helped anyone affected by pregnancy and baby loss to recover and build a life after loss. As part of the invaluable work Sands do, they are currently developing a suite of resources for children grieving the loss of a sibling following baby or pregnancy loss, to improve their mental health outcomes. These resources will soon be available to schools to support your pupils, some of whom are likely, given how common baby loss is, to have experienced this loss, or sadly will in the future.

“For anyone whose baby has died, however recent or long ago, the world is changed forever, and there is no simple answer to grief. Finding ways to cope and look after yourself or your partner is different for everyone.

“I hope that Banbury Town Hall being lit up pink and blue during October will help start more conversations about pregnancy and baby loss, and by doing so help bereaved parents and families feel more able to talk about their babies and find ways to look after themselves and others."

Sadly, every year in the UK, an estimated one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and over 5000 babies are stillborn or die within the first four weeks of life.

Sands is a charity supporting research to lower this number, training healthcare professionals to provide better maternity and bereavement care, campaigning for changes to policy, and, when the very worst does happen, ensuring there is support for anyone affected by this most tragic of loss.

For further information about Baby Loss Awareness Week visit: www.babyloss-awareness.org