Mum who lost baby raises £5,000 for hospital

Carly Carlisle, right, was just 19 when she lost her baby, Savannah

A mother who lost her baby when she was just 19 has raised more than £5,000 for a hospital's maternity bereavement service.

Carly Carlisle's daughter, Savannah, was stillborn 15 years ago.

The support worker's £5,100 donation, raised over the last six years, will fund memory-making items for grieving families at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals.

Ms Carlisle, now 34, said: "I've done this for Savannah. I want to help people going through what I went through."

She said the death of her first child, at 37 weeks and five days, had "completely changed" her.

"I had all the baby clothes, my hospital bag was packed, then I was told there was no heartbeat," she said.

"I was delivering a baby who wasn't going to cry and breathe and all I could hear was [other] babies crying. I often think about it."

According to the NHS, around one in 250 babies are stillborn or "born sleeping".

Rhian Morris, specialist bereavement midwife at DBTH, said it was "vital" for families to grieve and make memories following delivery, which Ms Carlisle's donation would help support.

Her partner Kieran and her three children helped with the fundraising, which has included a charity night, raffle, donations and a fun run.

The money will also fund improvements to facilities in the gynaecology department for those who have experienced early miscarriage.

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