Hundreds of people affected by baby loss came together for a torchlit walk on Sunday 15th October, allowing grieving families the chance to remember their babies and meet others in the same situation.
The event was organised by Nottingham-based charity Forever Stars as part of a programme of events for Baby Loss Awareness Week.
It started at the Lakeside Theatre at Highfields Park and culminate at the Serenity Garden – a remembrance garden at the park created by the charity for families affected by baby loss.
Richard Daniels, of Chilwell, set up Forever Stars with his wife Michelle in 2014, following the stillbirth of their daughter Emily the previous year.
He explained: “There are 15 stillbirths per day in the UK, which means there are thousands of families in the East Midlands alone who will have been affected by this kind of loss.”
“Thankfully, things are changing but there can still be a taboo around it. Too many people continue to suffer in silence and feel unable to talk about their precious babies.
“The event allows families to come together, no matter how long ago their loss. It’s a reminder that they’re not alone, that we should never stop talking about our babies, and to help people continue to honour their memories.”
The Forever Stars Serenity Garden, which sits at the south end of the lake, contains two specially-commissioned sculptures – one called the Fallen Acorn, which represents major oaks that never had the chance to grow, and a second sculpture of a star, called the Forever Stars, which families can have a petal woven into with their baby’s name on. So far there are 600 petals, with around 80 new ones being added every three months.
Emma and Andy Fennell’s daughter Cerys died when she was just 12 days old after being born with a congenital heart condition.
The couple, of Breaston, reached out to Forever Stars last year, ten years on from their daughter’s birth.
Emma said: “We knew about Forever Stars for years after our loss but didn’t know how or what they could offer us. That’s until Cerys’ 10th heavenly birthday, when we felt we should be ‘ok’, we felt we should feel better and we didn’t.
“We wanted to do something positive and approached Forever Stars. What this charity has offered us, Cerys’ little sister and our wider family was support, a listening ear, the hugest kindness, and a community who finally understood how we felt.
“Forever Stars have given us hope that there is life after baby loss that isn’t just sadness and sympathy and brushing our feelings under the carpet. It’s weeding in the Serenity Garden at Highfields, clay modelling for our little ones at the Serenity Centre, football matches, easter egg hunting, marathon walks and trekking up hills at the crack of dawn, cake sales, and most importantly it’s having a safe space to speak our baby’s name.”
For more information on how to get involved with Forever Stars, please visit their website at: https://www.foreverstars.org/