A BEREAVED father is to run the journey his daughter never made from the hospital where she died back to the family’s home to raise awareness of baby loss.
Jenna Baxter was just one day old when she died in the arms of her parents, Fraser and Shelley, at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Next Saturday, just before the anniversary of her death and during Baby Loss Awareness Week, Mr Baxter, 36, will run the 21-mile journey from the hospital to the family’s home in Bathgate, to raise awareness of baby loss, men’s grief and, above all, to make sure Jenna’s story is known.
He says: “When Jenna died I felt as if my world had come crashing down around me. The sadness in our house was overwhelming and I felt that I needed to escape so I turned to running.
“When I am running I can clear my head. It helps me to process all my thoughts and emotions. I often think of Jenna while I am out on my runs. I try to imagine what she would be like and what would life would be like with her here. And I keep on visualising the car journey home without Jenna.”
One in 15 babies in the UK dies every day, before, during or shortly after birth.
Jenna’s heartbeat was dangerously low when she was born on October 19 at St John’s Hospital, Livingston.
For 25 minutes, doctors battled to start her breathing and had almost given up when she gave a gasp. But her chances were slim due to the length of time she had been without oxygen. Mother and baby were moved to the neonatal ward at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
But her organs were failing. Family came to say goodbye, including Jenna’s sister, Jessica, now four, who sang Twinkle, Twinkle to her little sister. After she left, Jenna’s oxygen was turned off and she died 10 minutes later, in her parents’ arms.
It later emerged that there was clotting on the placenta, a condition called foetal thrombotic vasculopathy.
A month later, Mr Baxter, a chartered quantity surveyor, was joined by a group of friends in signing up to the Edinburgh Half Marathon for Sands Lothians, the stillbirth and neonatal charity. They raised more than £5,000.
He said: “This will be the longest I have ever run and will be a challenge for me but it certainly won’t compare to having to say goodbye to a baby that I only just met.”
*Contact SANDS Lothians on 0131 622 6263 or visit sands-lothians.org.uk. Baby Loss Awareness Week, babyloss-awareness.org, runs from October 9 -15
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