Work has begun on creating a bereavement garden at the heart of a Norfolk village for those grieving parents to remember their babies lost through miscarriage.
The memorial, which is in the process of being constructed at the back of Nordelph Village Hall, is a project set up by charity CALM (Coping and Living with Miscarriage), Mark Smith, garden designer at CGM, and local volunteers.
The team began work on the plot on Saturday, August 1 with the intention of creating a quiet place for people to grieve.
Cate Waters, from CALM - a charity which aims to help families come to terms with the loss of a baby, said: “The remembrance garden was thought to be important because so often with miscarriage the baby is very real to the parents but is not known to anyone else.
“The grief is silent and often unshared.
“An ordinary death, awful though it is, is shared by family and friends and there is a physical place that the grieving person can go to.
“With miscarriage, many hopes and dreams are shattered and often there is nowhere the parent can go to remember their child.
Mrs Waters said the garden will offer an oasis for people to spend time with their memories, with the space also available for friends and relatives who have lost an older child, relative or friend.
Liz Pendleton, who lost her baby in March 2019, said: “The bereavement garden is such an important sacred space.
“I could barely make my way out of the hospital. I felt so alone.
“I had no connection with other mums having been through the same thing until I found CALM on Facebook.
“Having a beautiful garden space with the memories and love from other mums of their lost babies would have helped tremendously with the deeply traumatic feelings I had on that day, the worst day of my life, as I would not have felt so alone.
“It would have made the world of difference to me and I am sure many others.”
There is a Nordelph Book of Remembrance for those fallen in war and Mrs Waters is offering the same free service to those who have lost a baby, older people and family pets.
People who have lost a baby and requesting the memorial will have the original sent to them and a copy goes into the CALM Remembrance book at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn and another goes into the Congregational Church Book of Remembrance at Nordelph.
If you wish to help or donate to the appeal contact Mrs Waters via the CALM Facebook page or at catemarkwell@yahoo.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here