Baby Loss Certificates Introduced

We are pleased to see that bereaved parents who lose a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy in England can now receive a certificate recognising their loss.

Ministers say they have listened to bereaved parents who have gone through the painful experience of miscarriage.

Campaigners said they were "thrilled" that millions of families would finally get the formal acknowledgement that their baby existed.

Currently parents who have experienced baby loss since September 2018 can apply.

They should visit the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/request-baby-loss-certificate.

Applicants must be 16 years old, have been living in England at the time of the loss and be one of the baby's parents or surrogate.

This is really good news and follows many years of campaigning by families and charities.

If your loss was before September 2018, we understand this news though positive, may be upsetting or frustrating. We are hopeful that these certificates will be available for you in time and will update you.

You are able to get Memorial Certificates instead here: https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/.../certificates/

Name Tile Orders - Deadline 15th February

Would you like to have a tile in place in memory of your baby, in Ashford, Canterbury or Faversham? No matter how old your baby was, what stage of pregnancy you were, or how long ago your loss was.

Nametiles are available in our Ashford Baby Memorial Garden, and on the nameboards at West Faversham Community Centre as well as Westgate Park in Canterbury.

The deadline for our next batch of nametiles is 15th February and they can be ordered by completing this form.

We ask for a minimum donation of £40, but can be flexible with payments over time where that would help.

Book Sales at Tesco Park Farm

We would like to say a big thank you to Jenny and Amy, the Community Champions at Tesco Park Farm for the donation of an incredible £800 which was raised through their in store book stall.

Thank you to all of the customers and staff that supported the stall. This donation will help us buy prizes for our Smiley Face Tombolas, or pay for the maintenance of the Garden for six months!

Aside from the money, the book scheme also allowed us to publicise our lovely charity in store, helping to raise awareness of what we do, and of baby loss more generally.

Pictured are volunteers Chris and Chris Twydell with Jenny and Amy, as well as manager Robin.