No family should face baby loss alone especially in the first days after leaving hospital. Add your name to our new campaign.

For every family after baby loss

Every year, families across Scotland leave hospital after the death of a baby with little or no specialist support. In their darkest moments, many face grief alone.

At Held In Our Hearts we deliver the only service in Scotland providing early, opt-out, in-home bereavement support in the first weeks after loss.

We meet families where they are, emotionally and physically, offering both practical and emotional support when it’s needed most.

But Hospital to Home isn’t available everywhere, nor is there a right for support.

And so, three extraordinary families have come together to spearhead a new campaign, opening up about their grief with a level of honesty and vulnerability you may not have seen before.

Or perhaps you have. Perhaps it was you, or someone you love, trying to navigate the journey after pregnancy, baby and infant loss.

Together we’re asking you to join us so that no one faces the devastating loss of a baby alone. Please consider adding your name to our open letter to the new minister responsible for women’s health in the Scottish Government, Maree Todd.

Alan visits his son Ruairidh’s graveside in Edinburgh.

Introducing our campaign families

Our new campaign features three families who all have their own deeply personal experience of baby loss.

Campbell. Ruairidh. Maeve.

Three babies, three families, and a journey that no parent is ever prepared for; nor should they be.

The days immediately after are unlike any others. Grief without shape, before you know how to hold it.

Then come things nobody prepares you for.

Beth and Alan hadn’t known they could name their son Ruairidh.

Clare and William had to find the strength to leave Campbell behind.

And nobody had told Natasha and Callum that Maeve could have a funeral.

Held In Our Hearts’ Hospital to Home service was there for all of them because every staff member has lived through their own loss.

We’re not able to fix what cannot be fixed, but to hold each family, a steady, quiet anchor in the darkness of loss; to walk alongside them.

But that support is not available to every family in Scotland.

Whether it exists for yours depends on where you live.

After watching their stories, we are asking you to add your voice to theirs.

An open letter to Maree Todd MSP

Dear Maree,

We are Clare and William, Beth and Alan, and Natasha and Callum.

Each of us lost a child.

Campbell. Ruairidh. Maeve.

But our stories are different.

Coming home, but without Campbell – taken from us an hour after he was born.

Learning that Ruairidh was allowed a name, and a funeral; now he has a headstone, somewhere that is his.

Or returning to a death certificate that got Maeve’s story wrong, and needing support to have it corrected.

What we shared was this: in the darkest days, someone from Held In Our Hearts was there.

To sit with us, to walk alongside us, and to hold onto hope on our behalf until we were ready to hold it ourselves.

The person who does this understands, not just because it was their job, but because they have been there, too.

Hospital to Home exists in parts of Scotland but it does not exist everywhere.

Whether a family gets it depends on where they live, not on what they need.

And every family deserves better than that.

Having watched our stories, we are asking you to add your name to ours.

Because every family that loses a baby in Scotland deserves what we had.

To be held from the start.

With love from,

  

Clare & William, Natasha & Callum, Beth & Alan

If you agree with Clare, William, Natasha, Calum, Beth and Alan please add your name to their letter.

Add your name

What is Hospital to Home?

Hospital to Home is our pioneering, evidence-based model. It is transforming how bereavement care is delivered and has the potential to scale nationally.

We currently deliver the service in five NHS Scotland health board areas, but there is no legal requirement for this support. 

We provide six sessions that offer practical and emotional support based on what each family needs. These can take place over weeks or months, whatever suits the family.

Whether personal wellbeing, relationships, social connection, returning to work, managing life, attending social events or being able to ask for support we see a substantial improvement from first Hospital to Home appointment compared to the last.

At Held In Our Hearts we believe that every family should be entitled to support after the loss of a precious baby.

In doing so, we can also reduce pressure on NHS Scotland, improve outcomes and provide compassionate community care.

From hospital to home, we need to be there for them.

That means there’s no guarantee any health board will continue to fund and we all know these are times when budgets are precarious. 

That’s why your voice matters. By supporting Held In Our Hearts, you can help protect and grow this vital service so more bereaved families across Scotland receive the practical and emotional support they deserve after the loss of their precious baby.

100% of families reported they felt less isolated after support

Just one quarter of families needed referrals back into the NHS

Currently available in five NHS Scotland health boards

79% of families said they felt better able to manage life at home

Meet our families

Each of our families trusted us to tell us about their own experiences of baby loss, and the support they received from our charity.

Clare, William & Baby Campbell's story

Natasha, Callum & Baby Maeve's story

Beth, Alan & Baby Ruairidh's story

Behind the scenes gallery

Our campaign was co-produced with the families who have taken part in it. Let’s go behind the scenes during the time we spent with them.

Help us support more families

Please consider making a donation to support our charity