10 September 2019
Anyone who has experienced or been affected in any way by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby is invited to attend a special service at Coventry Cathedral.
Bereaved parents, family members and friends are set to commemorate the all too brief lives of their babies from 2pm on Sunday, October 13.
It comes as part of Baby Loss Awareness week (October 9 to 15), which encourages people to talk openly and raise awareness of baby loss.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, with the support of local partner organisations, have organised the service.
George Eliot Hospital chaplain Ricarda Witcombe, who is leading the service alongside the Cathedral’s Canon Pastor, Rev Kathryn Fleming, said: “We hope this service will help those who have been affected feel more connected and less alone.
“Through meeting with others, who understand their feelings, support and hope is offered and families are helped to break the silence and talk openly about baby loss.
“We look forward to meeting people from across Coventry and Warwickshire. Everyone is very welcome, however old your baby, or how long ago your loss was.”
Copies of the popular Guess How Much I Love You book, donated by the 4Louis charity, will be available to families attending the service.
Wide-ranging information is also being made available about support services, while pupils from Exhall Grange Specialist School are singing.
Songwriter Sophie Daniels will be performing ‘I Can Love You From Here’ - a song written following the death of her daughter Liberty, who was stillborn in 2011. The powerful record was performed at a ceremony for MPs at The Houses of Parliament during Baby Loss Awareness Week 2018.
Actor, Director and Tutor David Monteith, the father of Grace, who sadly died the day before her birth, will also be sharing his experiences with those who attend.
He said: “The death of a baby is not simply an event from which you need to plan a recovery, but an ongoing maelstrom of grief re-writing the way you interact with the world.
“I’m proud to be able to attend events like this which acknowledge this and bring some normality to grief whilst honouring our children.”
Specialist charities and organisations from Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond are helping to support the service. Refreshments will be available on the day. Everyone is welcome to attend the service, including children, and there is no need to book.
Activities are taking place across the area as part of Baby Loss Awareness Week. Bereaved parents, families and friends are invited to light a candle at 7pm on Tuesday, October 15 and leave it burning for at least an hour in memory of babies who died too soon.
Baby Loss Awareness Week is led by Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, in collaboration with more than 40 charities across the UK. For more information please visit www.babyloss-awareness.org.
For further information about the event please email Ricarda.witcombe@geh.nhs.uk or call her on 07771 343958
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON BLOOD TESTING DUE TO COVID-19
If you are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, e.g. fever, loss of taste or continuous new cough, please DO NOT attend for a blood test.
Click on the map for information about phlebotomy clinics in Coventry. You can book an appointment online at the locations in red.
Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test. Click on the ‘Book Online’ button above. Booking an appointment helps patients, their carers and family members to plan their hospital visit better, helping to reduce clinic waiting times and enabling patients to be seen much more quickly.
Location: Outpatients Department, on the ground floor. Opening hours: 8am-4.45pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Children under 16 years old will need to book online here.
Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test, click on the ‘Book Online’ button above. Patients from Rugby and the surrounding areas are able to access the Friends Blood Taking Unit at the Hospital of St Cross.
Referrals for blood tests can be from GP's, practice nurses or from hospital consultants. Patients are also able to leave other samples, such as urine, which have been collected at home, at the hospital's Pathology Reception.
Location: Near Brookfield House, just off North Road - map here. Opening hours: The blood taking clinic sessions for adults and children are listed below:
Monday -Friday 7am-4:45pm Appointment only
Wednesday Evening 5pm-7pm Suspended due to COVID
Saturday Morning 7am-10pm Suspended due to COVID
April 2020 NEW - This Clinic is now by appointment. Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test. Click on the ‘Book Online’ button above.
Address: Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry CV1 4FS Location: Access is via the main doors, the Phlebotomy team are in Area A. Opening hours: Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). 8am–4.45pm
Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)
Specialist Tests - There are a small number of specialist tests where blood needs to be taken on a hospital site as the sample must be transferred to the laboratory rapidly for the test to be undertaken. Click here for a list of these specialist tests and to find out more.