Jenni Thomas OBE

In this episode, we are joined by Lucy Livesey, founder of Ellie's Gift. Lucy shares her story of losing her baby girl Ellie to TFMR (termination for medical reasons) and how she set up Ellie's Gift in her memory to support the baby loss community. The Ellie's Gift App is a free resource to support individuals through baby loss by offering practical assistance, mental health support, and educational resources. More information can be read here: https://www.ellies.gift/ 

To launch Series 6 of The Other Mothers Podcast, we were honoured to speak to journalist and author Ali Harris about her new novel "This Wasn't Meant To Happen" – a love story about a couple, Sofie and Rory, whose world imploded after the stillbirth of their baby boy at 39 weeks. Ali also opens up about the devasting loss of her daughter Poppy and explains how this experience became the inspiration behind her latest novel. This wasn't meant to happen. But it did. "Sofie Jensen knows the safest way to live is by staying in control. And she knows that love can come with a cost. But what she doesn't know is that one unexpected moment will change everything. Because meeting Rory and falling in love wasn't part of the plan. Neither was becoming pregnant or losing her baby. Sofie doesn't know how she'll survive this kind of grief – but she knows life will never be the same again… Told with quiet strength and breathtaking honesty, This Wasn't Meant to Happen is a powerful portrait of love, grief and the tender, complicated path back to hope" Ali's book can be purchased on Amazon here

In our final episode of Series 5, the three of us speak about inherited grief and the impact this has on our subsequent children. We talk about how we raise our loving children in the shadow of grief, and the conversations that come up in daily life.

We are joined by author Ellie Harley-Jones who speaks to us about her baby boy Theo, who she lost to stillbirth in March 2021.  Ellie has channelled her grief for Theo by writing and illustrating 'Theo Bear - A Midnight Wish', a beautiful and heartfelt story which is lovely to read to children, and is also a comfort for bereaved parents. We also speak about how healing and cathartic it has been for Ellie to write in Theo's name.

For Black Baby Loss Awarness Week, we are joined by Rachel Burrell and Gina Reeves, founders of the charity Ebony Bonds, a bereavement charity dedicated to providing support for black bereaved families . We speak about Rachel and Gina's personal experiences of baby loss - Rachel tragically lost her baby Rhema to stillbirth and Gina tragically lost her baby boy Dante to stillbirth. We also speak about the disparities and systemic inequalities of maternity care for black and mixed heritage families, and what is needed to make meaningful change. For more information on Ebony Bonds please visit: https://www.ebonybonds.org.uk/  You can follow them on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/ebonybondsupport 

In this episode we talk to Professor Alex Heazell, consultant obstetrician and Clinical Director of The Tommy's Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre in Manchester. We speak about Professor Heazell's pioneering research projects which focusses on the causes and prevention of stillbirth, and his visions for the future. For more information on his work at Tommy's, please visit: https://www.tommys.org/ 

To launch our new series, it is a privelege for us to speak to Jenni Thomas OBE, who is widely recognised as a leading figure and pioneer in bereavement support for families grieving the death of a child and for educating health professionals on how best to support families. We speak to Jenni about her experience in supporting bereaved families over the last 60 years, and her newly published book 'After a Child Dies, Parent's Grief'.

We interview Elle about her experience of secondary infertility, navigating IVF and miscarriages, along with the challenges this brings whilst also grieving the loss of her baby boy Teddy. Falling pregnant is not easy and the IVF journey is physically and emotionally draining with no guarantee of a happy ending. Elle is passionate about raising awareness about this topic and has written about it in her blog posts, news articles, and in her acclaimed book A Bump In The Road.

We speak to Jess Clasby-Monk from The Legacy of Leo about the loss of her, and her wife Nat's, baby boy, Leo, who they tragically lost to stillbirth in 2016. Jess speaks to us about the wonderful work she does to raise awareness and encourage conversations around baby loss through her blog and Baby Loss Hour, a weekly conversation on Instagram, which aims to bring the baby loss community together and provide a safe space for difficult conversations. Jess also shares some of the work she has done to raise the voices of others in the LGBTQ+ community who have experienced loss.

Something that is not spoken about enough is the trauma and lasting impact that baby loss has on our lives. Baby Loss is widely considered as the most traumatic loss that anyone can go through. In this conversation, we explore trauma responses, how this impacts each of us in different ways and the coping mechanisms we have found helpful in our grief. We hope that some of these will resonate with others, or be helpful to those who might need them.