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A charity which supports parents going through stillbirth and neonatal bereavement says it will continue to support people despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Abigail's Footsteps, The Medway Messenger's Charity of the Year, runs specialist training for healthcare professionals.
It also provides cooling cots which allows parents valuable time to spend with their baby before saying goodbye, and then offers subsequent counselling.
It was set up 10 years ago by Jo and David Ward, whose daughter Abigail was stillborn the previous year.
It also funds bereavement suites at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, and specialist counselling to help those going through a bereavement.
Although based in Medway, the charity's support extends much further afield.
Naomi Marston is the charity's specialist baby loss counsellor and an ambassador for them. She has 22 years' experience as a counsellor, 13 of which have been specialising in neonatal loss.
Donations to Abigail's Footsteps fund sessions with Naomi which help parents come to terms with their grief.
She is still carrying out her sessions, which revolve around talking therapy, over video call.
She said: "It's important parents know we are still providing a comprehensive, confidential online service they can still access.
"I work with parents helping and supporting them to come to terms with probably one of the most traumatic experiences they will go through.
"I help them learn to live with that; baby loss is not something you get over. No parent ever imagines that their baby will die before them.
"I work with both women and men to help them come to terms with the trauma and loss.”
Parents who have gone through a loss within the past two years can refer themselves for help; they don't necessarily need to be directed to the charity from the NHS or a midwife.
As well as supporting those who have lost a child either prior to birth or following birth, Abigail's Footsteps also supports women who have experienced a pregnancy in which there is a foetal anomaly.
Naomi explained due to current social distancing measures in hospitals, mums are finding themselves going for appointments and scans on their own, which can be particularly difficult if an abnormality is picked up and the mother has to receive difficult news without her partner.
Furthermore, the support network around an expectant mother has somewhat been cut off as families and friends are forced to stay apart.
Naomi said: "There is no antenatal or birth classes, although some are offering online classes, but there's no face-to-face contact.
"In the hospitals I am dealing with, women are going into labour on their own and when they are in the delivery suite, their partner can join them.
"I am quite aware that we are dealing with ladies who are feeling a bit more vulnerable.
"The whole process of funerals have also changed which adds to the grief and trauma, adding to the emotional and mental effects."
Those referred to the charity are eligible for six free counselling sessions.
Naomi said: "After working together for six sessions, most parents feel far more hopeful and empowered to get on with life.
Dein Oakey, from the Isle of Sheppey, sought help from Abigail's Footstep's following the stillbirth of her son Archie, who was born at 36 weeks.
Despite going through counselling after Archie's passing in May 2017, Dein, a customer service coordinator, got in touch with bereavement midwives to seek more help but didn't feel she was sufficiently supported.
In October last year, Dein came across a Facebook post about Abigail's Footsteps and decided to get in touch with Naomi about her services.
She said: "I hadn't really let myself grieve enough and it got to the point I thought I actually need help.
"I gave Naomi a message to see if she could help me and she called within a day and we arranged our first session."
Dein still receives counselling from Naomi and says she has greatly benefited from her help.
She said: "I just automatically feel better when I speak to her.
"She's not tried to make me get over it; it's part of your life, it always will be, it's your baby and you're right to feel how you feel.
"It’s okay to seek help for your grief; I was so ashamed for so long about it which is probably another reason it took me so long to actually get to see a counsellor.
"Stillbirth is a traumatic experience and there’s nothing wrong with seeking help to try and deal with the grief.
"It’s a grief that will never go away but with people like Naomi’s help, it makes it a whole lot easier to live with and also, these women that go through this are not alone."
Find out more about Abigail's Footsteps here.
