“We lost our precious baby girl, Eva, at 33 weeks in January 2022. She was diagnosed with a series of complex heart defects at 29 weeks, and we made the agonising decision to have a TFMR [terminated for medical reasons]. The only thing that made the experience survivable was the support and care we received from the John Radcliffe Hospital (JR), particularly from our bereavement midwife, Candice.

We fell pregnant again a few months after losing Eva, and the experience of being pregnant after a late and traumatic loss was overwhelmingly difficult. Every step of the way, it was acknowledged that William is our second child, and it was so special to have the same professionals care for both him and Eva. I wish every parent going through pregnancy after loss could have the same quality and continuity of care.

Candice was my rock, holding my hand at every scan and keeping me calm during terrifying, unscheduled visits for monitoring. She was by my side throughout Eva’s labour and was there for every moment of Will’s. That she was one of the first people in the world to meet Will, after she took such exquisite care of Eva, will always warm my heart. Candice understood completely what a huge flood of emotions the early days of parenting a living child would bring, and knew that I would struggle without my husband by my side. She ensured that I had a private room on the postnatal ward so my husband could remain with us for the duration of our eight-day stay – an incredible gift.

My community midwife, Ella, did everything she could to reassure me and keep me going. She also met, held and cared for Eva, and was another vital continuing bond. After 16 weeks, she saw me weekly at home so I could hear Will’s heart beating, and nothing was too much trouble. She raced to the hospital the moment her shift ended on Will’s birthday to meet our precious boy and provided wonderful postnatal care.

We received the best care from the Fetal Medicine department  – particularly from Mr Impey and specialist fetal medicine midwives, Alana and Sophie, who were always on the other end of the phone when I needed them and coordinated my care to meet both my clinical and emotional needs.

My anxiety levels felt unmanageable throughout Will’s pregnancy, and any slight change in movement would leave me convinced that the worst had happened. I called MAU at least once a week from 20 weeks, and was always listened to and treated with compassion, even when it was clear that their service was under great pressure.

Once I was on delivery suite, I was cared for by a brilliant midwife named Beth. She read my notes carefully and understood our needs exactly. She provided constant reassurance and explained everything in great detail, as I had requested.

We were also looked after brilliantly by the perinatal mental health, prolonged jaundice and infant feeding teams, without whom our journey to bringing home and caring for Will, who was six weeks early, would have been far harder.

That our complex needs were met so well, by so many teams, just shows the quality of care provided at the JR. I will never be able to thank the whole team enough for the incredible care they provided for both of my children, and for giving us the greatest gift of our lives – William – a gift we didn’t dare even wish for after such a devastating loss. The maternity staff at the JR are the very best of the NHS: hugely skilled, compassionate, caring, and ready to go above and beyond for the patients in their care. They are truly wonderful.”