Baby loss
Developing creative writing resources to support bereaved parents.
Dr Tamarin Norwood鈥檚 research interests revolve around the connection between medical humanities, bereavement studies and creativity. Working with Held in Our Hearts, she has developed resources that encourage bereaved parents to try writing as a way to make sense of their experiences of baby loss.
The challenge
A baby dies near birth every two hours in the UK. A further one in five pregnancies miscarry.
These losses are too often unsupported by the narratives – life stories, social acknowledgement and mourning rituals – that we depend on to make sense of death. This can leave bereaved parents isolated and more vulnerable to complex grief experiences.
The therapeutic benefits of writing in bereavement are well-documented, but had yet to be introduced in the context of baby loss.
Working with baby loss bereavement charity Held In Our Hearts, and drawing on her own experience and research, Dr Norwood has created a unique set of creative writing resources that are now in use – supporting bereaved parents to talk about and understand their experiences and grief.
The resources include a set of notecards offering writing prompts for parents to explore and capture their memories and a bereavement writing group course. Training has been created to equip facilitators to manage these group sessions sensitively and effectively.
Impacts and benefits
Feedback from parents who have already made use of the resources has been extremely positive.
They have highlighted a range of benefits including being able to process their feelings of loss; access to practical, constructive ways to remember their baby; better sleep; improved focus at work; and feeling more present with their family.
The project is gaining momentum. The notecards are now offered to bereaved parents across five Scottish NHS Boards, and Held in our Hearts are delivering training to healthcare professionals in Scotland – including midwives – to support parents in using them.
Similar work is underway with colleagues at Great Ormond St Hospital in London, so that they too can provide this unique support to bereaved parents.
Further funding is being sought to share the resources more widely, so that families across the UK and further afield can access the resources and be supported through their grief.
The success of the project has nurtured new working relationships and encouraged Held in our Hearts to work with Dr Norwood as a Principal Partner in her Leverhulme Fellowship.
In addition, it has brought new audiences to Dr Norwood’s published work, resulting in an invitation to guest edit a special issue of Life Writing journal on narratives of birth, birthing and death. It is scheduled for publication in 2025.
For me, the success of our project is measured in the profound impact the resources have on people experiencing devastating grief. On behalf of these families, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the EPG Team who were extremely supportive throughout the application process.
Meet our expert
Meet our partners
We were privileged to work with colleagues from the following Scottish-based charity.
Higher Education Innovation Funding
The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) supports knowledge exchange between higher education providers and the wider world that benefits society and the economy.