This Baby Loss Awareness Week (from 9 to 15 October), Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity is calling on local businesses to turn their buildings pink and blue in recognition of those who have experienced baby or pregnancy loss.
Baby Loss Awareness Week provides an opportunity to raise awareness of key issues affecting bereaved parents as well as driving change and improvements in care and support. As a specialist centre and one of only two dedicated women’s hospitals in the country, it’s a campaign that is close to the hearts of those at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
Approximately 2,000 women experience loss at the hospital every year, whether that is through miscarriage, failed IVF, stillbirth or neonatal death. This April, the charity launched the Woodland House Appeal, a new £3.5million appeal to help bring a standalone bereavement centre to the hospital – somewhere where heartbreaking conversations can take place with couples, in a private and comfortable environment, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy main hospital.
The appeal has just hit its first major fundraising milestone of £500,000, but there is still a long way to go and the charity hopes to keep the important topic alive this Baby Loss Awareness Week by encouraging local organisations to illuminate their premises pink and blue at night, as a visual sign of their support and to promote discussion.
Saranne Moreno, Corporate Strategic Partnerships Manager at Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity, said: “By lighting up your building this Baby Loss Awareness Week, you’ll be joining hundreds of other businesses and organisations up and down the country who are trying to break the taboo surrounding baby and pregnancy loss and give a voice to the thousands of families this impacts every year. Families like ours, who we are committed to providing support and care for, by making Woodland House a reality.”
As well as support during Baby Loss Awareness Week, Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity is also calling on local businesses to fundraise for the Woodland House Appeal, to help it reach its £3.5million target. As well as the public and community groups, the charity relies on generous businesses to rally their employees together and raise funds. That could be through something as simple as organising a cake sale or company football tournament, to taking part in a charity abseil or even climbing the three peaks.
For further information about how your business could get involved in Baby Loss Awareness Week or to find out more about the Woodland House Appeal, please visit: bwh.org/woodland-house.
