We can’t imagine the devastation of losing a baby – the grief, the pain and the shattered dreams.
Mum Shaye Woodhouse can, however. Her second child Charlee was stillborn last December, due to a knot in the umbilical cord which prevented the flow of oxygen.
Shaye was 37 weeks pregnant, and heartbreakingly had to deliver her sleeping baby girl.
But instead of receiving comfort, she says she found little support to help her through this “horrible time”.
“For nine long months I had been dreaming of Charlee’s life,” she wrote in MamaMia. “Instead I was handed bereavement forms and information packs – telling me what to expect, what to do next, how my relationship would suffer and how others would react to my baby born sleeping.
“Nobody sent flowers. Nobody came to lend a hand. My partner did not attend the birth because he simply could not face it. Our seven-year relationship broke down from this experience. In the end the only reason for getting up in the morning was to care for my two-year-old daughter, Lana.”
This experience fuelled the grieving mum’s mission to help other families going through what she did – and so Charlee’s Basket was born.
Shaye creates comforting hampers for families that have gone through the trauma of stillbirth and neonatal death. The packs are filled with items to help mum, dad and siblings, including maternity pads, nursing pads and food vouchers, and to capture those precious memories, an imprint kit and an inkless print kit with a frame.
“Charlee’s Basket is a free hamper,” says Shaye. “I want nothing more than to provide a gift to families in a caring, compassionate and warm manner.
“Creating Charlee’s Basket and having that to work on really helps because I am busy and I am doing something for my daughter that I lost. I am not thinking about it too much.”
It might seem like a simple idea, but what this mum is doing is huge. With these hampers she’s acknowledging these families’ pain and showing them that someone understands, someone cares.
If you would like to get in touch with Charlee’s Basket, or to donate, you can contact Shaye via Facebook and Instagram.
