When Leah’s little girl, Sofia was born sleeping in April 2023 she was cared for by midwife Beth, a midwife at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, who put Leah and her husband Nik ‘totally at ease’ and ‘showed immense sympathy’ for the family.
Leah said: “My entire pregnancy showed no issues with Sofia or anything else so you can imagine the shock when being told your baby has no heartbeat. It is an unimaginable pain, along with processing all the information and the realisation that this was our reality now. It was the worst experience of both of our lives but we had amazing Beth to look after us.
“Beth stayed with us when we needed her, but also gave us space if we wanted it. She took her time to go through all the little pieces in our memory box, helped to take photos of Sofia, took little locks of her hair for us to keep and told us all the next steps clearly and precisely. She made sure she sat and listened to us, even if nothing we were saying made sense.“
The Elaine Thorp Award for Bereavement Care aims to recognise the vital work done by midwives, nurses, and other health professionals to care for parents affected by pregnancy loss or the death of their baby.
Beth says that it's an honour being nominated for an Elaine Thorp Award for Bereavement Care and that it’s good to know that even though it was the "most horrendous time" for Leah, she has some positive memories because of the care she received.
“Even though they've lost their baby, it's still their baby, so you want to make those most intimate moments special, remembering their baby as a person and not just something sad that's happened to them.”
Leah also praised Beth’s patience and the time she spent answering any questions they had, and that she always acknowledged Sofia when she entered the room, and was careful and respectful when handling her.
Leah said: “We have never met anyone quite like Beth and can only hope other families in a similar situation get the same kind of care we did. I personally find myself reflecting on the care we received quite often and have nothing but positive memories considering the situation.
It was clear from Leah’s nomination that Beth goes the extra mile to care for every baby and every parent as an individual.
Beth said: “Some people don't want any, don't want anything, don't want memory making, don't want anything because they kind of want to try and block out what's happened to them, which is completely understandable. You've just got to try and do what's best and try and adapt to each family.”
Leah said: “Beth is an absolute credit to University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and every single interaction we had with her was faultless. We will remember Beth forever for making a devastating time a little more bearable.”
Find out more about the Elaine Thorp Award for Bereavement Care.