Ribbons will help families reflect on baby loss

Laura Thompson says the display will give people a physical reminder of their loss and help them grieve

A woman who has experienced baby loss has created the first memorial display in her town to give families a "chance to reflect".

Laura Thompson, 29, from St Ives, Cambridgeshire, said wanted to raise awareness after a miscarriage six years ago, and said conversations about loss were still "brushed under the carpet".

The ribbon display - on the railings of the St Ives Methodist Church from Wednesday 9 to 15 October - will allow people to write a memory or message on a ribbon.

Ms Thompson said: "No footprint is too small to leave an imprint on this world."

The 29-year-old mother-of-two, who works at the Cambridgeshire Maternity Voices Partnership, said talking about loss was "still a taboo".

She said: "It was horrific and not talked about and it's so much brushed under the carpet.

"Every year Baby Loss Awareness Week has just got bigger and bigger.. and every town where we are in Cambridgeshire had something on, except from St Ives."

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The display has been organised to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, to support and unite bereaved parents and families while raising awareness of pregnancy and baby loss.

The week ends with a global wave of light and displays which will be held across the country.

'No headstone, no burial'

Ms Thompson said: "It breaks the silence and it makes people think about it and talk about it.

"It gives people an opportunity to come together as a community and talk about their babies, it gives them somewhere to grieve.

"There is no headstone, there is no burial, there is nowhere to go.

"Leaving a ribbon - it sounds really simple - but that physical placing of something can help people mentally process something."

She said that during her pregnancies after her miscarriage, she suffered post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and "horrific" anxiety - and kept checking for blood when she went to the bathroom.

"To all those affected, mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings - I see you," she said.

"They may be gone too soon, but they are never forgotten. They are our angel babies."

The memorial is for anyone who has experienced baby loss, no matter when or how many weeks along and ribbons will be left outside the church.