Support comes in many forms, it's your choice how you use it
Whether you prefer an online platform, group sessions or face-to-face chats, we have the support network that allows you to choose what support is best for you.
Flutterbyes
Our Flutterbyes support group provides families with ongoing peer support after their time with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust. We meet once a month at our Basingstoke base and this year we have opened a second meeting place in Andover.
The face-to-face meetings are a safe space for parents to come together and talk openly about anything. We know that coming to a meeting for the first time can be really daunting as well as the preconceptions of what a bereavement support group would look like! However, there is always a very warm welcome from parents who have been coming for some time and the structure is informal.
Many parents do not feel ready to talk, but just being in the room with others who have been through a similar situation, immediately creates a feeling of togetherness. We always make sure there is a craft activity – keeping your hands busy when you feel anxious can concentrate the mind and means you don’t have to make lots of eye contact which can be challenging in new situations when you feel vulnerable.
We have done so many different things in the Flutterbyes meetings over the years from having speakers in, to pamper evenings, quiz nights, wine tasting, yoga and sometimes if there are just a few parents it’s a case of sitting around chatting and really getting to know each other – the good days and the bad days are shared, we laugh, we often have tears and the peer support is incredible.
If parents want to talk about their babies or share their journey, they are very much encouraged but absolutely never forced to do this.
The Facebook group provides an added element to the support between meetings and we encourage parents to post on here.
Befriending clinic
Our befriending clinic gives you the opportunity to meet and talk with Emily, our volunteer and SANDS trained specialist in the Sherborne building.
Emily has walked the path of grief and loss since Joshua died at 42 weeks of pregnancy in 2018 and also been through the anxiety and struggles of a Rainbow pregnancy and parenting after loss.
She has trained with SANDS to be able to meet and talk with bereaved parents – to be able to listen without judgement and share her thoughts and support in a safe and confidential space.
Clinics are held on a Tuesday evening with appointments at 5 and 6pm. Many of our parents come back time and again to see Emily – being able to talk, vent and share conversations that sometimes are impossible to have with close family or friends or anyone who has not experienced loss.
Appointments are held in our relatives room on the ground floor of the Sherborne building where you will be met by Bereavement Midwife Laura and introduced to Emily.
If you are unable to get to the Sherborne building or would prefer a telephone or video appointment, this is also possible.