Supporting families through neonatal care and beyond
This Baby Loss Awareness Week, 9 – 15 October, Shooting Star Children’s Hospices is highlighting the specialist support available to families whose baby has a life-limiting condition or has died, while celebrating national recognition for its partnership with St Peter’s Hospital.
Through the partnership, Shooting Star provides dedicated support within St Peter’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), helping families navigate the challenges of neonatal care, access practical and emotional support, and receive specialist bereavement care when needed.
The importance of this work has been recognised through St Peter’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) achieving Platinum Bliss Baby Charter accreditation, the highest level awarded by neonatal charity Bliss. The unit, currently the only Level 3 neonatal unit in England to hold the accreditation, was praised for its family-integrated approach to care, including compassionate bereavement support, psychological services and practical initiatives that help families remain closely involved in their baby’s care.
Assessors also recognised the unit’s inclusive environment, multilingual support and commitment to meeting each family’s individual needs. The accreditation reflects a principle at the heart of Baby Loss Awareness Week: that every family deserves personalised, compassionate support throughout their neonatal journey.
Helping to deliver that support is Vikki German, Family Support Worker at Shooting Star, who has been visiting St Peter’s NICU twice a week for almost three years. Originally introduced through a one-year mental health funding programme, the service quickly proved invaluable, offering emotional and practical support to parents, grandparents and siblings navigating some of the most challenging moments of their lives.
“I go round and say ‘Hi’ to all the mums that are in there and give them a bit of emotional support,” says Vikki. “If they’re feeling low or struggling financially, we can signpost them to different charities. It’s about supporting families through that neonatal journey.”
Drawing on both professional and personal experience, Vikki understands how overwhelming neonatal care can be. Alongside supporting families day-to-day, she works closely with those whose babies have life-limiting conditions or who are facing the death of a baby, helping them access hospice services, bereavement support and treasured keepsake boxes.
The service was initially created through a one-year funding programme to provide mental health support for families in the neonatal unit. However, it quickly became clear there was an ongoing need.
“So many people will come and find me now, even the consultants, and say ‘Can you come and help? Can you come and talk to this family?’” says Vikki. “The awareness of Shooting Star is now much better.”One particularly meaningful aspect of Vikki’s role is helping families create lasting mementoes of their baby. Keepsake boxes can include personalised wooden memory boxes, hand and footprints, ceramic heart tiles, ribbon measurements showing a baby’s length and delicate hand or foot casts.
“Every family will get offered a keepsake box,” says Vikki. ”They don’t have to take it up, but it’s there if they want it.”
Over time, Vikki has also helped challenge misconceptions about children’s hospices and the support they provide.
“I think a lot of people found it hard at first because they thought, ‘Why is a hospice here? What are they doing in the neonatal unit?'” she says. “I’m not here because your baby’s going to die. There’s so much more that we can offer.”
The impact of the support Shooting Star can have is reflected in feedback from families themselves.
“One family said to me, ‘We feel very lucky that we had our baby at St Peter’s and that this service and this connection with the hospice was there because we don’t know what we would’ve done without this support,'” she shares. “That’s exactly why I’m here.”
The partnership between Shooting Star and St Peter’s Hospital was highlighted during the Bliss assessment as an example of best practice in supporting families experiencing baby loss.
Ahead of Baby Loss Awareness Week, Vikki is encouraging people not to shy away from conversations about babies who have died. Instead, she believes one of the most meaningful things friends and family can do is acknowledge a baby’s life and use their name.
“A lot of families I’ve worked with say people either don’t talk about their baby or don’t use their name, and it’s like they didn’t exist,” she says. “I think it’s really important to acknowledge that their baby was here, their baby had a name. No matter how small or how little, their baby was part of them.”
She added, “When I go out to families, I always use their baby’s name. They find comfort in that because their baby was here. The biggest thing is to acknowledge that they existed.”
From emotional support and practical guidance to treasured keepsakes and bereavement care, Shooting Star is there for families when they need it most. To find out more about our work supporting families in neonatal care and beyond, visit our website.
