Alice and Shaun’s Story:

I lost our beautiful daughter, Autumn, on 10 August 2024 at 26+4 due to a placental abruption. I went to hospital with reduced movements, where I was monitored for hours and they were happy with her heartbeat, but they couldn’t get a consistent reading, so I was told to come back the next day.

As soon as I got home, I had a heavy bleed, so my husband called an ambulance. I was monitored again; they could find her heartbeat but wanted to transfer me to a hospital more equipped for premature babies. I was transferred to King’s College Hospital and was monitored again. I was told they were happy with her heartbeat until, hours later, the midwife was having trouble finding it and called the consultant in.

As soon as the consultant did the scan, I could see how weak her heartbeat was. They pressed the emergency button and I was rushed into theatre. I was terrified; I just wanted Autumn to be safe.

The consultant did another scan and said there was no heartbeat. They asked if we wanted to try to save her, which of course I did. They worked on Autumn for 19 minutes but couldn’t save her. We left that hospital completely broken.

I was unsure about counselling, as I had never needed it before and wasn’t very good at talking about my feelings, so I was really anxious going into our first session. However, our counsellor, Julie, made us feel so comfortable and created such a safe space to share.

I was in such a dark place after losing Autumn; I simply couldn’t bear living life without her. Julie really helped me to realise that you can live your life whilst carrying the memories of Autumn with you.

Petals also supported me when I fell pregnant three months later. Julie enrolled me in a pregnancy-after-loss group, which was amazing and helped me on my journey to bringing my rainbow baby, Romy, home on 22 July last year.

I honestly don’t know where I would be today without the support from Petals. They helped me in every way possible and have made such an impact on my life. I can’t thank them enough.

I would recommend anyone to give it a try – it may be scary at first but it could change your life.

Petals helped piece me back together to make me the best mum to my angel Autumn & my rainbow baby Romy.

You made such a difference to our lives, Julie.

We are forever thankful.