With support from Karbon, Sunderland based bereavement charity, 4Louis, has been able to help even more grieving families in the region affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of a baby.
A £900 grant has funded the charity to provide a mix of both stillbirth memory boxes and early miscarriage memory boxes, which have gone to the Newcastle RVI, Sunderland General Hospital and University Hospital Of North Durham.
The boxes, which contain items such as a clay cast, which give parents an opportunity to gain hand and footprints of their baby, a special wallet for any baby scan pictures to be kept in, a candle that can be lit on special occasions, and a small trinket box to keep the baby’s wisp of hair inside, are designed to provide families with the means to capture precious mementos and honour the life of their baby.
Patron of the charity, Paula Parnaby, said: “We’re so grateful to Karbon for its support. The £900 grant has helped us supply more memory boxes for local families who are grieving the loss of their child.
“It’s heart-breaking to imagine that lack of resources available might reduce the precious memories and keepsakes captured in the short time that families get to spend with their baby, so we’re passionate about making sure that families have the support they need during these difficult times.”
Miscarriage or the death of a baby or child is not a rare occurrence. Every day in the UK around 15 babies die before, during or soon after birth. 1 in 4 pregnancies sadly end before they reach 12 weeks.
One mother who benefitted from a memory box from 4Louis is Emma Murphy.
Emma said: “The charity has helped both me and my husband enormously after our beautiful son Joseph was born sleeping at 38 weeks. The memory box and its contents are beautiful and we will treasure it forever. It allowed us to make treasured memories with our son in our private room, things we may have forgotten to do in our grief and shock but things we are so glad we did.
“Once I have come to terms a bit more with the loss of my son I would love to be a volunteer for the charity as I think the work they do is brilliant and so important.”
The charity started after founder Kirsty Knight lost her son, Louis, at 38 weeks pregnant. After finding that there was very little access to support and memory making following his stillbirth, in early 2010 the first batch of memory boxes were delivered to Sunderland General Hospital and 4Louis was born.
4Louis now supplies over 250 hospitals and hospices across the UK and Ireland with memory boxes and other vital equipment such as cuddle cots, cuddle blankets and photography equipment. They also work to improve the care that bereaved families receive from healthcare and other professionals by funding and frequently hosting bereavement training and study days for midwives.
With support from Karbon, Sunderland based bereavement charity, 4Louis, has been able to help even more grieving families in the region affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of a baby.
A £900 grant has funded the charity to provide a mix of both stillbirth memory boxes and early miscarriage memory boxes, which have gone to the Newcastle RVI, Sunderland General Hospital and University Hospital Of North Durham.
The boxes, which contain items such as a clay cast, which give parents an opportunity to gain hand and footprints of their baby, a special wallet for any baby scan pictures to be kept in, a candle that can be lit on special occasions, and a small trinket box to keep the baby’s wisp of hair inside, are designed to provide families with the means to capture precious mementos and honour the life of their baby.
Patron of the charity, Paula Parnaby, said: “We’re so grateful to Karbon for its support. The £900 grant has helped us supply more memory boxes for local families who are grieving the loss of their child.
“It’s heart-breaking to imagine that lack of resources available might reduce the precious memories and keepsakes captured in the short time that families get to spend with their baby, so we’re passionate about making sure that families have the support they need during these difficult times.”
Miscarriage or the death of a baby or child is not a rare occurrence. Every day in the UK around 15 babies die before, during or soon after birth. 1 in 4 pregnancies sadly end before they reach 12 weeks.
One mother who benefitted from a memory box from 4Louis is Emma Murphy.
Emma said: “The charity has helped both me and my husband enormously after our beautiful son Joseph was born sleeping at 38 weeks. The memory box and its contents are beautiful and we will treasure it forever. It allowed us to make treasured memories with our son in our private room, things we may have forgotten to do in our grief and shock but things we are so glad we did.
“Once I have come to terms a bit more with the loss of my son I would love to be a volunteer for the charity as I think the work they do is brilliant and so important.”
The charity started after founder Kirsty Knight lost her son, Louis, at 38 weeks pregnant. After finding that there was very little access to support and memory making following his stillbirth, in early 2010 the first batch of memory boxes were delivered to Sunderland General Hospital and 4Louis was born.
4Louis now supplies over 250 hospitals and hospices across the UK and Ireland with memory boxes and other vital equipment such as cuddle cots, cuddle blankets and photography equipment. They also work to improve the care that bereaved families receive from healthcare and other professionals by funding and frequently hosting bereavement training and study days for midwives.
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