Karla and Gareth Marrow set up baby loss awareness charity to honour Jessica Suzanne
A Hull couple who set up a charity after the tragic loss of their baby girl at 37 weeks have spent the past year focusing on helping others who have experienced the loss of a baby or young child. Now Karla and Gareth Marrow want to take things to the next level by getting their baby loss awareness charity, In Jessica’s Memory, officially registered with the Charity Commission.
The cause, which aims to help in a number of ways including contributing to the financial cost of headstones, urns and flowers, and by offering advice and a listening ear, needs to raise at least £5,000 to be able to receive a registered charity number. In October, during Baby Loss Awareness Week, Karla was joined by family and friends on a fundraising bike ride from Hull to Hornsea and back, which added £1,500 to the charity’s coffers.
Karla said: “If we are registered we can do more and a lot more people can be helped. When we’re fundraising it means other businesses might come on board as well as a registration number is what they look for; it gives that extra reassurance.”
Karla, who has four daughters, and Gareth, who has a son, had Jessica Suzanne together. She was expected in June 2024 but the month before, Karla suffered a rapid onset of gestational hypertension (high blood pressure) and received the heartbreaking news her baby no longer had a heartbeat, at Hull Royal Infirmary.
“We went through one of the worst things you can possibly go through. It was traumatic – I almost died myself due to the severity of the situation.
“I don’t know how we have got through the past 18 months, but we’ve been focusing on the charity and wanting to help other people,” said Karla who with Gareth welcomed rainbow baby Zac into the world six months ago. “The first few months of the charity were really busy, doing raffle prizes and we’ve still got our bonus ball fundraiser running through our Facebook page every Saturday,” said Karla.
“When we were expecting again, the page went a little bit quiet – I was a high-risk pregnancy – but we’re actively fundraising again. We’re planning a Big Funday Birthday Bash, in May next year, in honour of Jessica’s second birthday.”
A post about the forthcoming event promises a “not to be missed” date with bouncy castles and soft play for young ones, raffle prizes and bingo for the adults. “There will be something for everyone, a little something on the day to remember and honour all of our angel babies too,” it said. Full details, including date, location and time are due to be posted in January.
In the meantime, In Jessica’s Memory has newly launched an artificial flowers loan service, heart-shaped tributes that can be borrowed for a baby’s funeral. It is also having some memorial plaques designed specifically for earlier losses, and with engraving a possibility.
The charity has memory boxes available for parents and for siblings too. Its Facebook page said: “Every little helps the charity and the more our posts get shared, the more people will know about us.
“We want to help as many people as we can in what will most probably be one of their most vulnerable times in their life. We want to stop the stigma that there is around stillbirth and baby/young child loss, we should be able to talk about our children freely but a lot of the time we are met with awkward silences, especially when you get the question ‘how many children do you have?’
“All children matter whether they’re earthside or in heaven, they can’t speak up for themselves and be heard so it’s up to us to give them that voice, to speak up, to be loud, to advocate for them.”