L-R: Sands member Joan Curle, Clinical Midwifery Manager Jo McMullen, Sands member Sarah Field, Associate Clinical Nurse Manager Karen Wakelin, Sands member Laura Mackay with baby Mason, Sands members Catherine Maetzig and Erica Daigneault
The cakes and slices had a pink and blue theme, with decorations including glitter, butterflies and little baby feet made from icing.
The occasion? A morning tea for Hutt Hospital maternity staff, organised by the local chapter of a support group for parents who have lost a child in pregnancy or infancy.
Sands Wellington members visited the ward on Baby Loss Awareness Day (October 15th) to say thank you to the staff for their efforts to care for newly bereaved parents.
Catherine Maetzig, who lost her daughter Abby in 2011, said small gestures meant a huge amount when she was in hospital, such as nurses gently offering to take photographs of her daughter in case she wanted them later.
She also praised the understanding of staff who helped calm her anxieties in the lead-up to the birth of her next child.
“As well as the care when we’re here, it’s the care we receive in subsequent pregnancies. The sensitivity about what’s happened and the fact you’re going to be extremely anxious, and the extra checks.”
Being able to thank the maternity ward for their care was wonderful, she says.
“I think it’s really nice for them to feel appreciated and that how they deal with bereaved parents makes a huge difference.”
Sands is a national non-profit organisation which offers support for parents and families who have experienced the death of a baby at any stage during pregnancy or infancy.
They offer a range of support measures including baskets of clothing and baby care items to assist parents who lose a baby through miscarriage or stillbirth; and support groups to help parents come to terms with their loss.
To mark Baby Loss Awareness Day they held ‘Caring for the Carers’ morning teas at Wellington and Hutt Hospitals.
Group coordinator Joan Curle calls Sands “the club no one wants to be part of”.
“But it’s not a bad club to be part of, because everyone there is understanding,” she says. “It’s a safe place that you can go to and talk about your baby.”
For information about Sands, go to www.sands.org.nz
For more information contact:
Chloe Barnes, Communications Advisor – Ph 027 704 781
