County Derry-based baby loss foundation launched

The founder behind County Derry baby loss foundation ‘The White Butterfly’ has hailed its launch as a great success.
The organisation, which was started by Kilrea woman Selina Casey, launched during Baby Loss Awareness week at the start of October.

To launch the foundation, two very poignant events were held at Derry’s Guildhall and Stormont in Belfast.
Speaking to the County Derry Post afterwards, founder Selina described the events as “absolutely outstanding” and “emotional”.

Mrs Casey continued saying: “I am absolutely delighted with how well received the events were. It has surpassed all expectations I had. There was such a positive energy in the rooms.

“It seemed people got a lot out of coming to the events. I got a lot of good feedback from those that attended. The mummys that came got a lot out of hearing the speakers who had been through their own baby loss journey. A lot of them felt these mummys are ok so I will be ok.

“There was one couple in particular that came up to me at the end and thanked me. They lost their little son in 1980. They told me there was nothing like this in those days. They showed incredible bravery. It was a very special moment to share with them.”

The event saw an array of speakers. At the Guildhall the speakers included Mayor of Derry Lilian Seenoi Barr, Sharon Tosh, Brendan Tosh and Rachel Carlin.

At Stormont Cara Hunter introduced the event and it was hosted by Cathy Martin. Other speakers included, Anna Cassidy, Jill Hamilton, Natalie Mc Neill, Ellie Goan, Lindsey McKenna and Louise Donaghy. Selina continued, “I am very thankful to Cara Hunter (MLA for East Derry) for making the event in Stormont happen and the same goes for Cllr Lillian Seenoi Barr (The Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council) for the event in The Guildhall. The introductions those women gave blew me away. They were both so complimentary of The White Butterfly Foundation and everything we are doing and plan to do in the future.

“We are at the very early stages but it seems like things are finally coming together. We are there for people when they are in that dark place to offer a small beacon of hope. We are here for people to reach out. The events have definitely raised awareness on what we do. We have had more people reaching out to us over the past week. We are a foundation by bereaved parents for bereaved parents and I think that shows. We have several volunteers and fundraisers that have been through their own journey and now are helping out.

“We have been nominated as DiggMama’s (Caroline O’Neill) community spotlight of the month. She has a massive following on Instagram and that has really raised our profile. This is amazing as it leads to another person or family knowing we are out there if they need help. We have also been working to raise awareness among up and coming midwives. We visited student midwives in Queen’s University to do a talk recently, that was amazing.”

Selina hopes for the future that there will be psychological support especially for baby loss in every county in the North.
She said she also hopes to continue the Timeless Tile workshop which has been very successful. She hopes to have a Christmas one in November and some throughout the year on Mother's Day and Father’s Day.

Selina concluded saying: “What keeps me going is working with bereaved parents one to one every day. That gives me the fire in my belly to keep going. They are incredibly resilient people. There is something so special about the baby loss community. It is so humbling to work alongside them.”

Cara Hunter MLA for East Derry commented saying: "Miscarriage is an all too common experience, but one that rarely receives the attention it deserves. Whilst miscarriage before 24 weeks happens to around 1 in 8 expecting mothers, the pain and trauma that this experience leaves has not been sufficiently recognised in public discussion. Mirroring the lack of discussion, has been a lack of services and structures to support parents in their grief.

"It has been an honour to sponsor today's event at Stormont presented by the White Butterfly Foundation. Selina Casey, a Kilrea woman who herself has experienced this loss, founded the organisation to provide counselling services for the bereaved, and to offer community and support for those who all too often feel isolated and alone in their grief.

"One mother explained how she left the hospital with just a leaflet - no other support. That's not good enough. These parents desperately need support at a very difficult time in their lives.

"I welcome plans to bring Northern Ireland into line with other jurisdictions in introducing a baby loss certificate; this certificate is an important official gesture to make those impacted by this loss feel seen and validated.

"I hope that today's event and the work undertaken by the White Butterfly Foundation will rightly bring this issue into greater focus and I will be pushing the Executive to make more money available to facilitate this much needed work.”