Louise Quinn’s Story; Baby Loss Awareness Week

16 Jan Louise Quinn’s Story; Baby Loss Awareness Week

Louise also shared her story during Baby Loss Awareness Week 2019, telling us the story of her baby daughter Freya. Read her full story here…

“In 2016 our daughter Freya was very sadly born sleeping when I was twenty-six weeks pregnant. The grief my husband and I experienced after the loss of our daughter was unimaginable and there were several times when suicidal thoughts crossed my mind and I suffered terribly from anxiety and depression.

I was referred to a clinical psychologist at the hospital where I had given birth to my daughter. One of the team was studying to complete a PhD and asked if she could work with me and so I received a year of counselling. The support I received helped me find strategies to cope with and come to terms with my ‘new normal’. Through cognitive behavioural therapy I found exercises to help alleviate anxiety and get back to work and resume my social life.

After we lost our daughter we were desperate to conceive again; this was inevitably fraught with anxiety but the support I received from the NHS helped me to pursue another pregnancy, and this year in July, that journey resulted in the birth of our boy/girl twins Oscar and Astrid. I received support from the perinatal mental health team throughout my pregnancy with the twins; it was especially difficult around the time that we lost our daughter.

The support of the psychologist and visiting perinatal mental health nurses has been amazing; knowing that there is a safety net in place and people looking out for me who will listen to whatever anxieties or thoughts I have without judgement has been a life saver and continues to help me in my new role as mother to my son and daughter.

We will never ever forget Freya; I see her in her sister and brother every day and I feel like she played a big part in their arrival. The mental health treatment I received from the NHS helped me accept that the grief of losing our daughter will always be with us but we can build a new life full of hope around her memory.”

If you have experienced a similar trauma to Louise, The Baby Loss Awareness Week Alliance are here to help. Please visit our Organisations page to access contact details for your relevant Alliance charity.