03/10/2025
We are supporting Baby Loss Awareness Week (9-15 October 2025) by holding a Service of Thanksgiving and Acknowledgment for our babies and children hosted jointly by the Maternity and Neonatal teams.
The Services will be held on:
- Sunday 12th October 2025 at 2pm in the Lecture Theatre, 2nd Floor, South West Acute Hospital with refreshments provided – Register on Eventbrite
- Sunday 19th October 2025 at 2pm in the Guildhall, Derry/Londonderry – Register on Eventbrite
To ensure we have adequate space we are asking people to please register their attendance via Eventbrite.
Family members are welcome to bring flowers to the Service which will be placed on top table to remember each baby. The flowers can be brought to their baby’s resting place or home afterwards.
Following the Service at South West Acute Hospital, Lead Midwife Brenda McCabe is inviting all staff who have cared for, or personally lost a baby in pregnancy or birth, along with other service user families present, who also has been affected with Baby loss – to join them for a 4 mile walk. The walk will start at the front of the Hospital entrance and along the bypass road to the bottom of the Tempo Road and back. This is a 4 mile accessible walk in support of The Miscarriage Association to raise awareness for pregnancy loss under 20 weeks. Everyone is welcome to join the walk to remember your baby or the babies and families you cared for.
We are providing support for awareness of Early Pregnancy Loss by participating in this walk. However If you wish to raise money on behalf of the Miscarriage association then contact them through their home page.
After the walk everyone can return to the Hospital Atrium where they will be offered light refreshments.
Speaking about Baby Loss Awareness Week Nikita Anderson, Western Trust Childbirth and Pregnancy Loss Specialist Midwife said:
“Baby Loss Awareness Week offers families, communities and healthcare professionals a chance to remember babies who have sadly passed away during pregnancy or shortly after birth. It provides a safe and compassionate space for those impacted by baby loss to come together to honor their babies and share their grief.”
“Baby loss awareness week allows us to honor these precious lives that matter deeply and remind parents that they are never alone in their grief. The care parents receive from their surrounding healthcare professionals can make such a difference when dealing with their grief and loss. We are continually trying to improve our bereavement suites/services in both hospitals within the Western Trust in order to improve the care provided to bereaved families in our Trust.”
This year, we will also be hosting remembrance trees in each of our three hospital sites at Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry/Londonderry; Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex and South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen from the 9th -15th October to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.
Joanne Scott, HR Manager for Staff Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at the Western Trust explains:
“Our staff regularly care for families who experience pregnancy or baby loss but within the Trust, we know that many of our staff will have experienced this heartbreak themselves. It is hoped that these remembrance trees will provide a place for our staff and our patients, to take a moment to remember their baby alongside other parents and families who know what it is to live with this momentous grief.”
Baby Loss Awareness Week culminates on October 15th which is known as International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance day and is recognised across the world.
To celebrate this you can join with other families across the world in the global ‘Wave of light’. Simply light a candle at 7pm local time and leave it burning for at least 1 hour to join in remembering all babies that have gone too soon.
You can also join the virtual Wave of Light at 7pm local time on 15th October 2025. To get involved take a photo of your candle and post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram using #WaveOfLight
Wherever you light your candle, you will be joining a global ‘Wave of Light’ in memory of all the babies who lit up our lives for such a short time.
For information on the support available for you or someone you know, please visit our Bereavement Care Page or the Sands NI Website