THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE KINDNESS

In summer 2024, we asked the people of Bristol and Weston to help us raise money for our Snowdrop Appeal. An appeal to transform eight hospital spaces in St Michael’s Hospital and Weston General Hospital for families experiencing devastating pregnancy and baby loss. These spaces were gloomy, clinical and outdated and in dire need of love to help bring families comfort when then need it most. 

The time these families have together is traumatically short. Working alongside the Snowdrop team, Elle and Maddie, we wanted to do everything we could so that if the worst happens, families are surrounded by the gentlest and most carefully considered environments. 

Thanks to all of our kind donors for supporting this full-hearted project and our snowdrop families. You shared the love and helped us raise over £45,300 to make this project a reality.

From fantastic fundraisers, generous companies, new residents moving into St Mike’s Village and those who shined a light during Baby Loss Awareness Week, you’ve all done something amazing for grieving families in our community.

   

THE CHANGE you've made

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Lavender Suite

Making positive memories to remember

The Lavender Suite, one of the biggest bereavement spaces, is a place where families go to make memories with their baby who may have been born sleeping or who died shortly after birth. These memories will last a lifetime and we want them to be cherished.

The suite is made up of a lounge, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and staff equipment side room, Previously the Lavender Suite felt unwelcoming, outdated and dark, with no natural light. Feedback from parents suggested that it instead intensified the sadness of the situation stating that "the room was dark, had no windows, and was a very cold, sad room. The room needs colour, love and to be a place of hope in the darkest of times."

Thanks to all our Snowdrop Appeal supporters including the B&Q Foundation and Winners Chapel Bristol, snowdrop families will no longer step inside an outdated and dark space and instead will soon be surrounded by thoughtful artwork by artist, Kate Bond, that brings colour and warmth to the space.

We have added lightboxes for a natural light effect and new sofas, chairs and cushions will all make the space more inviting and comfortable, while reflecting the staff’s commitment to treating mourning parents with dignity and respect.

 

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Mortuary viewing room

A place to say goodbye

Once a mum has been discharged from hospital, the family can return to say a final goodbye to their baby. Due to its location in the hospital, the mortuary viewing room at St Michael’s Hospital has no windows and the only sound in this room is the loud air conditioning. We wanted to make sure these spaces were a more sensitive and caring environment for those families.

Thanks to our supporters and funding from The Murray Parish Trust, we’ve added light boxes to the space and nature-themed artwork by artist Kate Bond, to bring soft natural light and warmth to the room.

We’ve also been able to provide new sofas, chairs and a soft cot for parents to spend extra time with their baby, as well as a Bluetooth radio to enable families to play their own music or soothing sounds during an incomprehensibly difficult goodbye.

  

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Central Delivery Suite

Soundproofing to care 

At the edge of the delivery ward in St Michael's Hospital is a room that anyone miscarrying a baby over 20 weeks gestation or delivering a stillbirth will be bought to. This is the sad reality for many mothers. 

Previously, you could hear labour and delivery noises through the wall from the room next door, which can be extremely distressing for the families experiencing loss. 

Thanks to the generous donations to our Snowdrop Appeal, we have been able to install soundproofing, artwork and a Bluetooth radio to support families to feel safe, comforted and secure, away from the sounds of the delivery wards.

  

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Early pregnancy clinics

CALM AND QUIET SPACES

As part of the refurbishments, we also wanted to improve two spaces in the early pregnancy clinics at St Michael's Hospital and Weston General Hospital; the 'quiet rooms' where families often receive the news that they have miscarried and the waiting room nearby were in need of some love and consideration.

Your donations have provided new blinds and artwork to make these spaces more comforting. Dimmable lights to reduce the intensity of the rooms and storage cabinets which will help tidy the spaces up and allow staff to access support materials at a more suitable moment in the conversation. 

We've also provided a radio so families can listen to their own music and minimise any noise they might hear from happy families outside.

  

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Gynaecology ward rooms

Life-changing moments

When someone is miscarrying a baby less than 20 weeks gestation they are supported and cared for in one of two rooms on the Gynaecology Ward in St Michael's Hospital. We don't have photos of this space as the rooms were sadly in use. A poignant reminder to us that loss was being experienced on the other side of the door by families as we visited the ward.

We have softened these clinical spaces with artwork, furnishings, and dimmable lights to help it feel more like a place of warmth and comfort during these traumatic experiences.

 

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In this video, Maddie and Elle from the Snowdrop Team guide you through some of the spaces.

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 "The difference this appeal has made for our snowdrop families is huge. When they’re going through one of the worst possible experiences in their life, they’ll have spaces and environments where they can spend time together or make positive memories as a family that will last forever." Snowdrop team

Please help us support future families at St Michael's Hospital and Weston General Hospital by making a donation today.

 MAKE A DONATION

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