Footprints Baby Loss

Footprints Baby Loss Twin and Triplet bereavement support following a death before, during or after pregnancy. https://linktr.ee/footprintsbabylosscharity

Peer support matters ๐Ÿ’™โค๏ธWeโ€™re really pleased to share our new Peer Support Leaflet for Healthcare Professionals, created...
04/09/2026

Peer support matters ๐Ÿ’™โค๏ธ

Weโ€™re really pleased to share our new Peer Support Leaflet for Healthcare Professionals, created to explain why peer support is so important for families following the death of a twin, triplet or more, and how healthcare professionals can help by signposting families to specialist support.

Families may never access peer support unless someone tells them it exists. A simple conversation and early signposting can open the door to support when they need it most. The leaflet also explains how peer support can complement clinical, psychological and bereavement care.

This leaflet is part of our Peer Support Project, which we started with TAPS Supportโ ๏ฟผ, and weโ€™re so grateful to have worked alongside them on this important project.

A huge thank you to Angus Lawson Memorial Trust (ALMT)โ ๏ฟผ for funding the production of this leaflet.

Weโ€™re also incredibly grateful to Donna Ockendenโ ๏ฟผ, Prof. Nicholas Embletonโ ๏ฟผ and Sam Collingeโ ๏ฟผ for contributing their words about the importance of peer support. Their quotes feature in the leaflet and helps to demonstrate why peer support should be part of the support offered to families.

๐Ÿ“„ Read the leaflet here:

https://footprintsbabyloss.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/HCP-Peer-Support-Leaflet-A5-3.pdf

Weโ€™re also planning to have the leaflet printed, so we can share copies with healthcare professionals and maternity and neonatal services.

Please do share this with any healthcare professionals who may find it useful.

03/09/2026

๐Ÿ‘ฃ Our private Facebook community ๐Ÿ‘ฃ

Our online community is a safe and supportive space for parents who have experienced the death of a twin, triplet or more.

Itโ€™s a place to connect with others who understand the particular experience of twin and triplet loss - whether your loss was recent or many years ago.

You can share, ask questions, talk about the things that feel difficult, remember your babies and find support from people who truly understand.

The group is private, and everyone needs to complete our community membership form before joining.

๐Ÿ’™ Find out more about our online community:
https://footprintsbabyloss.org/support/online-community/

๐Ÿ’™ Complete the membership form:
https://forms.gle/aCiNzMbtdEvBH8ms9

๐Ÿ’™ Join our private Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/footprintsbabyloss/

Starting or returning to school We are thinking of all the families in our community where their twins or triplets would...
02/09/2026

Starting or returning to school

We are thinking of all the families in our community where their twins or triplets would be starting school this year, and those where a surviving twin or younger sibling is starting or returning to school.

We know this can be a particularly difficult milestone. There can be so many emotions, memories and thoughts around the child who should be starting school alongside them.

We also appreciate that the โ€˜doorstep photosโ€™ of children starting or returning to school can be difficult to see.

If this is a difficult time for you, please know that you are not alone. We are here if you would like some support.

01/09/2026

From September 2026, children and young people across England will begin learning about grief and bereavement as part of the school curriculum.

For the first time, conversations about death will be happening more openly in classrooms.

This creates an important opportunity to ensure baby loss is included in those conversations, so that every familyโ€™s experience is recognised with sensitivity and compassion ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’™

We are inviting all schools to acknowledge this important awareness week, and to look out for those affected in their community ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿ“š

Remembering all of our September babies. We join you in thinking about them for any special dates such as due dates, bir...
01/09/2026

Remembering all of our September babies. We join you in thinking about them for any special dates such as due dates, birthdays and anniversaries. Please do share your twins and triplets names with us if September is a special month.

31/08/2026

Suzie talks a little about befriending, one of the supports we offer at Footprints

Our befrienders offer peer support to families following twin or triplet baby loss, helping families feel less alone and providing a safe space to talk with someone who understands.

You can find out more about our befriending support here: https://footprintsbabyloss.org/support/befriending/

If you would like to request a befriender, you can complete our community form here: https://forms.gle/DY2XcMoC93aHthkEA

We have a dedicated space on our website sharing book recommendations that families in our community have found helpful ...
30/08/2026

We have a dedicated space on our website sharing book recommendations that families in our community have found helpful following baby loss.

Books can offer comfort in many different ways - helping us understand grief, reminding us that weโ€™re not alone, or giving words to feelings that can be difficult to express.

You can explore our recommendations here:
https://f.mtr.cool/zpf9txxd5n

If thereโ€™s a book that has supported you and you feel it could help another family, weโ€™d love to hear about it and consider adding it to our recommendations.

We are so grateful to the families who take the time to share their experiences of Footprints. These words mean so much ...
29/08/2026

We are so grateful to the families who take the time to share their experiences of Footprints.

These words mean so much to us and remind us why peer support matters so deeply after the loss of a twin or triplet.

Weโ€™ll be sharing more of your lovely feedback over the coming weeks. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ๐Ÿ‘ฃ๐Ÿ‘ฃ

27/08/2026

This position paper on multiple pregnancy complications and loss sets out how peer support works alongside medical care and counselling, from diagnosis through complications, loss, and long after. It states peer support has no end point and no eligibility tied to a diagnosis or a stage of pregnancy, so families can draw on it for as long as they need it.

๐’๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ

The paper states that peer support plays a key role in helping families manage the difficulties of multiple pregnancies when complications or loss occur, connecting them to others with shared experience for comfort, empathy, and real-world advice that adds to medical care and counselling. It states peer support gives ongoing comfort and a sense of belonging, reduces loneliness, and helps parents feel understood and better able to manage both emotional and day-to-day challenges.

It defines peer support as any connection between people with shared experience, in person through multiple birth organisations and dedicated groups, or online through forums, social media groups, and video or phone calls.

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐

The paper lists the complications behind these challenges as preterm labour, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, growth restriction, TTTS, TAPS, and selective fetal growth restriction, alongside the possibility that one baby dies while others survive. For families who lose one or more babies, it describes a duality of emotions, feeling gratitude for a surviving baby while grieving the one who died, and states peer support is crucial for memory-making, preparing for birth, and the emotional complexities of termination for medical reasons.

It states that professionals bring vital expertise, and that parents who have lived through these situations add a level of relatability that is difficult to replicate, not always covered in standard medical or counselling sessions.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง

Unlike traditional support systems, peer support carries no time, financial, or resource restraints. The paper states it can be accessed at any stage of a family's journey, for as long as it is required, without limitations.

The paper notes social media and digital platforms let parents connect globally when in-person meetings are impractical due to time, health risks, or travel. In-person meetings let parents observe how others parent, or remember a baby who has died, in a way the paper says digital spaces do not fully replicate.

๐‘๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ

The authors recommend that healthcare providers point families toward trusted, research-backed peer support networks. For those networks, they recommend structured membership screening, clear rules and protocols, signed agreements on confidentiality and safeguarding for volunteers, and a no medical advice policy backed by access to a medical advisor.

For families: ask a support group how it screens new members and trains the people running it.

Link to paper in comments.

Footprints Baby Loss

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Knowl Hill Common, Reading, RG10 9YD, United Kingdom
Reading
RG10 9YD

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