A baby loss charity based in Greater Manchester, Beyond Bea, have issued an appeal for baby vest donations to support its unique project, which aims to create a visual representation of the number of babies who tragically die in late miscarriage, still birth and neonatal death every year.
Each baby that died will be represented by a vest laid out at a local football stadium, which will then be photographed and filmed. The charity plans to use this visual representation to raise awareness about the frequency of baby loss and help promote its charitable aims to provide accessible and compassionate bereavement training for health care professionals.
Beyond Bea has already successfully sourced many baby vests through generous donations, often from its supporters whose own baby has died. However, the charity is still nearly 1,000 vests short of the target.
The charity is reaching out to its local community to see if anyone has any unused or outgrown baby vests they’d be willing to donate or if local shops or manufacturers have any spares or unwanted samples.
The vests can be any colour or patterned but must have short sleeves and be from tiny baby to three months in size. Vests can be posted or dropped off at the charity until the end of May 2023.
Steph Wild, who is the Founder and voluntary CEO of Beyond Bea and a Registered Midwife, says: “The impact of the death of a baby goes far further than just the parents. It extends to family, friends and wider society. It also encompasses the professionals responsible for caring for these families, a hugely challenging task which is often undertaken with little or no training, limited resources and minimal support.
“The loss of my own daughter, Bea, when I was 23 weeks pregnant, alongside my clinical experience as a midwife, drives me to do all I can to make a difference to families going through any kind of baby loss be that miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy/compassionate induction and neonatal death.
“I don’t get to go to school sports days or watch my daughter in a nativity play. I instead get to ‘parent’ through sharing her memory, saying her name, and allowing others to learn from Beyond Bea’s bereavement training.
“I’m passionate about Beyond Bea’s Baby Vest Project – I believe a visual representation of the number of babies who are lost each year will help create a powerful tool for raising awareness and training.
“I thank everyone that has already supported the charity and ask everyone reading this to check if you have some outgrown baby vests that you no longer need. The vests do not need to be in perfect condition, used and worn vests are absolutely fine. After filming the vests won’t be destroyed – we plan to sell them on our second hand online shop to help fund the development of our bereavement care training.”
Baby vests can be sent to: Beyond Bea Charity, FAO Mary, Unit 3 Jones Court, Jones Square, Stockport, SK1 4LJ.
