A Prestwich woman says support for families affected by baby loss must improve after the death of her son.
Melissa Hayat, 29, is raising money to provide hospitals with specialist equipment that allows families to spend more time with babies who die before or after they are delivered.
Melissa, who lost her son Noah William Heydon after 14 weeks of pregnancy, is aiming to raise £5,000 at a family fundraising event to purchase memory boxes, as well as specialist CuddleBlankets and CuddleCots, which preserve the dignity and appearance of children and allow families to spend time with them at home.
After Noah was born at the Royal Oldham Hospital in December last year, Melissa and her partner Mark were approached by charity 4Louis, which provided them with a CuddleCot and memory box to help them to come to terms with their loss.
READ MORE: Radcliffe: Baker celebrates successful cake-making business
Melissa said: “Instead of being in a hospital mortuary they can be with you.
“I think it gave me time to come to terms with it because it was quite quick, had I not had that opportunity, that would have affected my grieving process and my mental health.
“It also gives time for the family to spend time with them as well, you get to see them, you get to cuddle them, without that I would have struggled.”
Despite allowing families a vital chance to bond their children, not all hospitals and healthcare settings have access to these cots and blankets, meaning that if the cot at the Royal Oldham had been in use, Melissa would have been able to spend time with Noah.
She added: “If someone else had come in before us, we wouldn’t have had the chance to have that time.”
“I would hate for anyone to go through that and not have that special time with them."
As a result of her experience, Melissa would like to raise money to purchase more CuddleCots and CuddleBlankets for hospitals across the country, as well as to raise awareness of baby loss more generally.
READ MORE: Bury: The Fusiliers to hold Gallipoli service and parade
At the end of the month, she will hold a family fun day event at Prestwich Conservative Club to help raise as much money as possible for her cause.
She said: “Since I’ve been doing this event I’ve had people coming to tell me that they have had a miscarriage, loads of people have come out of their shell.
“A loss is a loss whether it’s at 10 weeks or 20 weeks, they still could have had help and support.”
Her memory box has also helped Noah’s two older siblings, Josh, 10 and Chloe, nine, to grieve their brother as they prepare to plant "forget-me-not" seeds in his memory.
Melissa said: “They know it’s OK to talk about [Noah’s loss], I think that’s a great thing for a nine and 10-year-old.
The family fun day fundraising event will take place at the Church Lane club from 12.30pm to 5.30pm on Saturday, April 30.
It will include activities for children and adults, including face painting, balloon artists and bingo as well as a raffle and tombola with prizes donated from local business.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here