Two childhood friends who both suffered miscarriages have raised over £5,000 to give back to the Listening Rooms at the Southern Trust.
Linzi Beattie and Kirsty Mendes Teixeira, both from Laurelvale, held a fun day at the local cricket club last September in memory Linzi’s baby girl Quinn and Kirsty’s baby boy Jaeden.
The fun day, which consisted of a silent auction and a raffle, was a huge success, raising over £5,119 for the Southern Trust.
The money has been used to fill over 100 memory boxes, buy over 200 books and fund 12 overnight stays for parents to take time out following the loss of a child.
“It was just amazing. We’re so thankful”, said Linzi, speaking last week. “It was something for us to do to remember our babies as well as supporting the Trust. They are always needing stuff and just don’t have all the resources they need.”
Linzi and Kirsty with their families and the midwives from the Southern Trust
Reflecting on her experience with miscarriage, Linzi says that the Listening Rooms at the Southern Trust were particularly helpful in helping her to cope with the lost.
She explained: “It’s a place away from the hospital where you can have one-to-one chats with the bereavement midwives. They will support you through it so you dont have to go back to hospital, as it can be daunting to go back to a hospital after going through all that.”
The Listening Rooms facility opened at Skeagh Cottage in Dromore in 2021, offering a private and comforting space for families that have suffered baby loss. It is used as part of the care offered by the Trust’s two Bereavement Support Midwives.
Motivated by the care they received Linzi and Kirsty decided that a fun day would be a good way of raising some money to support the Trust.
“We felt it was the time to give back to the other families who would be in need of the same support that we needed. We decided to do a fun day and it was a really good success and we had a good turnout”, Linzi said.
“At one point me and Kirsty just stood and looked at each other and said ‘how did this happen?’ It was such a good turnout, it was a lovely day and the sun was shining. Local businesses in the area and even those who weren’t local were generous in their donations!”
She added: “I think miscarriage is quite taboo sometimes and people dont really talk about it. I just wanted to show it is ok to talk about it and to remember your children.
“Kirsty and I were very lucky we had each other. We’ve been childhood friends since we were no age when we lived only two doors down from each other. We were lucky we had that support but not everybody has that. If they don’t have that support, it’s even more vital that the Listening Rooms can provide something for them.”
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