Birmingham bereavement centre appeal reaches target

Work is set to start on the bereavement centre this summer

Work is set to start on a new baby loss bereavement centre after a £3m fundraising effort reached its target.

Woodland House will feature bespoke counselling rooms, as well a family room with private garden, the Birmingham Women's Hospital Charity said.

It added the centre would be a "safe haven in which to grieve - away from the hustle and bustle of the busy maternity ward."

Work is set to start in the summer.

An appeal was launched to fund the the purpose-built standalone centre three years ago.

About 2,000 families experienced pregnancy or baby loss at the hospital each year, the charity said.

Birmingham Women's Hospital deals with many of the more complicated pregnancies and births from across the wider region and beyond.

Chief executive Mark Brider said: "Many of these brave families have shared their heartbreaking stories throughout the appeal, each one reflecting on how different their experience might have been, if somewhere like Woodland House had existed.

"We're grateful to them all for inspiring more and more people to give, to make things better for our future families."

Fundraising would continue to make the centre "home away from home," the charity added.

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