The mum supporting a baby loss team - with teddies

Hollie Edridge wants to give back to the bereavement suite that helped her

At the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, a dedicated team of midwives support parents coming to terms with the raw pain of baby loss.

The Blossom Suite is a special place.

And the care it offers has spurred one mother to begin a fundraising campaign, collecting the very embodiment of childhood warmth and cuddles - teddy bears.

Hollie Edridge says the Blossom Suite helped her create memories at the most difficult time

When Hollie Edridge found out she was pregnant with her third child, she couldn't wait to meet her little boy, Alfie.

However, after nine months of pregnancy, she was told during labour that they couldn't find a heartbeat.

"They decided when I was in hospital that I would give birth naturally because it was the safest way, and I was terrified," she says.

"The minute he came out I cuddled him, and realisation hit.

"I just broke down at that point. To know that he wasn't alive when I was giving birth to him was hard."

The 28-year-old, from Epping, experienced "placental abruption" - when the placenta partially or completely separates from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery.

It can lessen or block the baby's supply of oxygen and nutrients and cause heavy bleeding.

The Blossom Suite offers support and care to bereaved parents

"Once we knew that I was going to be safe I just now had this time to spend making as many memories as I could, that's where the Blossom team came in," she says.

"They have a room in there and it is filled with hundreds of donations - and you can choose anything you like. They gave me loads of things I could do with him, wash him, clothe him, it was just about creating memories at that point.

"I don't know if I could've gone through it without them, they were unbelievable."

After launching an appeal online for pre-loved teddy bears, Ms Edridge received more than 200 - which she washes by hand and mends.

"So many bears hold so many memories, and it would be such a nice thing if we could use much-loved bears instead of new bears," she adds.

"We gift them to other families who need them, with some going to the Blossom Suite and others being sold to raise money."

'This room holds so many emotions'

Midwife Rebecca Pursey has also had personal experience of the bereavement suite

Rebecca Pursey, 34, has been a midwife at Broomfield for six years.

She know first hand the experience of baby loss, and used the Blossom Suite herself.

Her daughter Pepper died at 30 weeks' after a problem with her heart.

"The lead up to it was hard as I was still working on the labour ward, so delivering other people's babies whilst pregnant with Pepper - knowing that things weren't that good," she says.

It took Ms Pursey a couple of days to go into labour before giving birth to Pepper in the Blossom Suite on 28 November 2019.

"This room holds so many important emotions and memories," she says.

"That first cuddle and those photos I have, those first moments are the most important to me."

'I cannot thank them enough'

Nicola Dolden, who is now a student midwife, said the support she received from the bereavement suite was vital

Student midwife Nicola Dolden also remembers her own experience in the Blossom Suite and the staff who made such a difference.

She spent time here twice, after losing her daughter Rudy at 18 weeks' in 2020 - and Aurora at 28 weeks' in 2021.

"With Rudy I had a 12-week scan and a gender scan and everything was fine but they didn't really give me any information about what happens next.

"I ended up clawing my way through the internet trying to find out what would happen to her."

She said the nurses helped her in her darkest moments, taking photos and castings of her daughters' hands and feet.

"I can't even thank them enough for the memories that they gave me," she says.

"It lets me know that they were real and that they were here and that they meant something."

Nicola is now in her second year of midwifery training and wants to become a bereavement midwife.

"I knew what I wanted to achieve," she adds.

"I had a vision of what I wanted our families to have and what care I thought they needed."

'It gives us purpose'

Tabitha Stuthridge says she is proud of what she and others had set up to support families

Tabitha Stuthridge has been a bereavement midwife at Broomfield Hospital for seven years.

When she first arrived, the role didn't exist, and she was tasked with creating the Blossom Suite.

The nursery used to be an old store cupboard full of bin bags and machinery and the idea was to create a room for families, a home from home, with everything they needed to hand.

"Bereavement care is improving and there's been a big drive to improve the facilities that hospitals have to support families," she says.

"When a baby dies you feel like you can't do enough, no matter what you do you can't fix the situation.

"So if we can offer families support in the way of memory making, then it means the world and it gives us purpose, so it helps everyone."

"Part of our job is to try and reassure families, to gain that trust and to tell them that they're not on their own and we're here to help them.

"We are led by you, and we're going to do everything we can to make this process as gentle as it can be."

If you have been affected by this story or would like support then you can find organisations which offer help and information at the BBC Action Line.