Remembering Your Baby
Losing a baby at any stage of pregnancy is a devastating experience which can leave you feeling bewildered and alone. Many people find it helpful to have special ways to remember their baby. This page tells you about some of the ways Gloucestershire Hospitals can support your memory-making.
On this page
At Gloucestershire Royal Hospital we have a ‘Forget-me-not garden’. This is a tranquil and beautiful place where you can sit and reflect.
At the heart of the garden is a memory-tree sculpture to which you can have a leaf added, inscribed with your baby’s name.
Please use this link to find out more: www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/charity/news-and-events/news/our-forget-me-not-garden-a-place-of-healing-opens-thanks-to-your-support/
Alternatively, there are books of remembrance in the chapels at Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Your message, which should be no more than 50 words long, will be inscribed by hand. A hand-inscribed copy will also be produced for you to keep.
If you would like to make an entry, please email your text to ghn-tr.spiritualcare@nhs.net. Also add your name and address and state the hospital where you would like the entry to be made. There is no charge for this service.
The books can be viewed at any time when our offices are staffed, but it is a good idea to telephone ahead to make sure that someone will be present to open the cabinet for you. The contact details for the hospital chaplains are at the end of this page.
Each year we organise baby remembrance services, ‘Small Footprints On Our Hearts’. One of these is usually during National Baby Loss Awareness Week in October, and repeated in the spring. Please get in touch with the chaplains to ask for details.
When the hospital arranges cremation, the ashes are scattered in the special baby garden at Cheltenham crematorium. There are also ways to remember your baby at the crematorium. For more details, email cemetery@cheltenham.gov.uk
Useful contacts
The Hospital Chaplains
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Tel: 0300 422 6200
Cheltenham General Hospital
Tel: 0300 422 4286
Email: ghn-tr.spiritualcare@nhs.net
Bereavement Support Midwives
Tel: 0300 4225 564