In the United Kingdom, a charity called Remember my Baby (RMB) takes pictures of stillborn babies to help families grieve the loss of their newborns. RMB volunteer and co-founder Cheryl Johnson told the Daily Mail more about her charity. She said, “It’s so important for parents to have a memento of their baby. It’s what keeps them going – they don’t get to take their baby home, so it’s all they’ve got left. When you walk in the door and look at the parents’ faces, you do get a lump in your throat.”
She added, “People say to me “oh my God, why on earth would you want to take a picture of a dead baby? It’s not for everyone, but when you hear the positive responses from the parents you help, you know it’s the right thing. It’s so rewarding – we really are making a difference for these parents.”
On RMB’s website, they say their mission is to “offer a service of baby remembrance photography to all parents suffering the loss of their baby in every hospital and birth centre across the UK.” All of RMB’s photographers are professionals who volunteer their time and visit families that have just lost a baby.
In September 2014, Kenny and Helen Sawyer lost their child just two days after she was born and contacted RMB for photographs. They explained, ‘When the nurse suggested photos I was utterly mortified at the thought – our first response was absolutely no. But I’m so glad we did it – it was the best thing to happen and I will treasure the photos for the rest of my life.”
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Another couple, Paige Warren and Luke Farnham, praised the charity for helping them recover from the death of their newborn daughter. They said, “She was covered in tubes and plasters for the two days she was alive – these photos show us what she would have been like as a normal baby. She lives through these photos – she was here and she was alive. It was a short period of time, and we’ll never see her speak or laugh or even open her eyes. But we have these beautiful images and we’re so proud of them.”
Danielle Melville’s baby girl Harper-Shae was tragically stillborn in October last year. In a further cruel twist of fate, this was devastated Danielle’s second infant loss after son Fletcher sadly died neonatally in 2009.
Danielle, 30, and husband Craig, 35, have recently welcomed baby Arlo – but they are beyond grateful for their precious memories of little Harper-Shae.
Mrs Melville, from Ambrose, Scotland, said: ‘It’s horrible to be in this situation twice, but having these pictures really helped me – it made it a lot easier for me.’
Little Zachary was stillborn in February, leaving his parents Paige Warren, 21, and Luke Farnham, 27, distraught.
Ms Warren, from Crawley, West Sussex, said: ‘They touched Zachary up to make him look healthier, and now I can show those pictures to my daughters to help them remember their brother. ‘In the images we took ourselves his lips were dark and he had started going purple and it would have scared my kids – it’s not something they recognize as a baby. ‘I’m so happy I have these to share with them.’
View the beautiful pictures below.
