For Teardrop Group and Willow Room

We found out that our baby boy no longer had a heartbeat on 9th June 2013. Beth was induced and at 39 weeks, on June 12th, Nathaniel Joel was born, a perfect baby boy. It was such a blessing to be in the room funded by Teardrop and to have a midwife delivering the baby who had been specifically trained by Teardrop. There were lots of extra touches to the room that set it apart from the other rooms on the delivery suite, such as a sofa bed, memory boxes and hand-knitted clothes and blankets for the babies. It was a place where "normal rules don't apply" so the whole family could be together at any time of the day or night. We also spent time in the Teardrop garden, which was a beautiful and peaceful space very close to the delivery suite. During this difficult time it was little things like these that we found so helpful. We are so grateful for the work of Teardrop and hope that you will support this fantastic charity, in memory of Nathaniel.

About Teardrop

Teardrop is affiliated to Sands (the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society) and supports bereaved parents and relatives of babies who have been lost through miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death.

Teardrop, which is run by volunteers and financed on a Charity basis, was started in 1992 by midwives at the old Ashington Maternity Unit with the aim of better equipping staff with the skills to enable them to support anyone having experienced the death of a baby. Teardrop is involved in a variety of areas which include staff training, the installation of a special room  (the Willow Room) for grieving parents on the Delivery Suite at Wansbeck Hospital, provision of a remembrance book and the organisation of a yearly memorial service. Through extensive fundraising and with the support of the Trust Charity Development Group in 2003 a special garden was installed at Wansbeck General Hospital.

The Garden is situated in one of the closed courtyards at Wansbeck General Hospital. It is the result of years of planning and was installed entirely from fundraising and charitable donations. It is a place of beauty, a quiet garden where anyone who is grieving or in need of tranquillity, may come and sit for a while. The garden is maintained by members of the Teardrop Group.

We now run a business making personalised textile gifts and all the profits go Teardrop and Sands. Take a look https://www.facebook.com/WillowGiftsforSands