Baby loss memorial gardens proposed for new Carrick and Larne cemeteries

A memorial garden has already been opened at Larne’s main cemetery in Craigyhill after a plot of land was requested by the Little Snowdrops Baby Loss Support Group.

At a special meeting of the borough council on Tuesday, the council agreed to further provision when new cemeteries open at Old Glenarm Road outside Larne and in Carrickfergus.

A motion was proposed by Coast Road DUP Councillor Angela Smyth, seconded by Carrickfergus DUP Councillor Cheryl Johnston, that the council “raises awareness of the devastating impact of baby loss and support that parents need through the grieving process to help them adjust to their loss”.

Cllr Smyth underlined the need for the council to ensure that parents are aware of “care and support available to them and provide them with a place to reflect and remember”.

She proposed that the council has relevant charities that can offer support featured on its website following miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death.

Cllr Smyth said that there were five stillbirths in the borough during 2019 and she emphasised the need to “overcome any stigma” associated with baby loss.

Seconding the the motion, Cllr Johnston said that it would “break the silence around baby loss”.

“One in four women suffer a loss. It is not uncommon,” she noted.

Larne Lough councillor Alderman Paul Reid, who is also the minister of the Old Presbyterian Church of Larne and Kilwaughter, told the meeting: “One of the hardest jobs is going into a family where they have lost a child and to see a mother or father holding what was a little bundle of hope they had brought into the world and have lost.

“For anyone to see a little white coffin, it breaks the heart of the hardest stone. It is not natural for a parent to bury a child”

Carrickfergus Alliance Cllr Lauren Gray said: “The more people who are aware about this issue, the more support a mother and father will feel.”

Little Snowdrops Baby Loss Support Group Larne is an initiative developed by a community midwife and two bereaved Larne families, distraught by the lack of support for those tragically affected by stillbirth and neonatal death in the Larne area.

The group says: “Both the group and the garden will be open to all families who have been affected by stillbirth and neonatal death regardless of gender, age or religion and regardless of when their loss occurred.

“We hope that this will go some way in overcoming the isolation and stigma associated with baby loss, while offering a safe and supportive environment.”

The garden is being developed with sensory planting, seating areas, a water feature and native trees.

Ann Beggs, garden volunteer, has said: “The initiative aims to promote an informal support group alongside a reflection garden.

“We hope that this will go some way in overcoming the isolation and stigma associated with baby loss, while offering a safe and supportive environment.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

Click here to read: ‘Clergy on board’ with new £2.1m Larne cemetery plan

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