‘There’s going to be a lot of emotion, especially for the women that came to that first group and who still choose to be a part of Chasing Rainbows’
Sam Catanach with her husband Martin and children Blossom, four, and Ted, seven.
The founder of a much-loved charity which has helped hundreds of families is days away from the “pinch me” moment of opening the UK’s first and only baby loss and infertility hub. Sam Catanach is now proud mum to Ted, 7, and Blossom, four, but she endured a heartbreaking, painful journey before completing her family.
The 39-year-old initially channelled her devastating loss into an online forum, with the social media handle Crazy Fertility Queen, which eventually led to the creation of the Chasing Rainbows charity. This month marks seven years since Sam hosted her very first in-person support group in a Hull cafe, where she and six women shared their stories and heartache.
And having spent years tirelessly working to help others from cafes and her Kirk Ella home, this weekend will see Chasing Rainbows take a huge step forward, when Sam will open what is believed to be the UK’s first ever baby loss and infertility centre, in Brough. From April 20 the Brough hub will be able to host peer support, 1-2-1 support calls, free fertility coaching and in-person events from its very own base.
As she prepares to welcome some of the bereaved families she has helped over the years, as well as new service users, Sam told of the journey that has led to the momentous opening day, and also of the huge support she has had from local tradesman, businesses and other supporters to make it happen.
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The mum of two, who also owns Flex Dance School in Hull, said: “There’s going to be a lot of emotion, especially for the women that came to that first group, back in 2019, that still choose to come and be a part of Chasing Rainbows. It’s going to be incredible.
“It all started in 2017 when my husband Martin and I started trying for a family. And we had five miscarriages on our journey to be parents. I had four losses, then we had Ted, then I had a loss in lockdown, and then we had Blossom. It was horrendous and very lonely and very isolating.
“All I wanted to do was to speak to other women that got it, and who were experiencing the same, to be able to give me hope that I would end up bringing a baby home that was alive because I had a fear that we were never going to have a baby to bring home.
“I started writing a blog whilst I was going through my losses which is called Crazy Fertility Queen. It was only ever cathartic for me, just writing it down so I could remember everything I’d been through. But then in Baby Loss Awareness week in 2017 I saw the wave of light on social media, with people lighting candles, and I thought more people probably experience this than I know. And the only way I’m going to find people is by becoming more public about my story.”
Sam hit publish online and woke up to 100s of views and emails, which quickly turned into 1,000s from around the world.
She launched the support group in 2019, with the first meeting in a cafe on Wilson Street in Anlaby – and by the end of the year she had applied for Chasing Rainbows to become a registered charity, getting confirmation of its official status the following April, during lockdown, when she also made the charity her full-time career.
She said : “I called it chasing rainbows because one of the things that I always say to the women and the men is to keep on chasing rainbows. There’s one on the walls in the baby loss hub and I can’t wait for people to see it.”
Alongside monthly in-person support group meetings in Hull and online support sessions, Chasing Rainbows oversees a penpal service, and has also amassed a wealth of information and knowledge to pass on to those she cares for. She says giving vital information to help and empower women is a key priority for the charity.
“Me and my husband were very fortunate that we were able to turn to private care to get the answers we needed to be able to have our children,” she said. “But I’m very aware that not everybody can do that. The purpose of the charity is to look at how we can help people, think about things that can cost very little, but can help people get a step closer.
“I’m also very aware that infertility and IVF is a cash cow business. I’ve got women I support who have remortgaged their house for £70,0000. When you’re vulnerable and you want to have a baby, you will go to any length to do it.
“We don’t give financial contributions but I help women to advocate for better and more personalised, individualised care. Quite often, especially when it comes to recurrent miscarriage, which was what I had, it’s a one-shoe-fits-all treatment method within the NHS, but what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. So we’re all about signposting and giving knowledge.”
Chasing Rainbows has never received any grants or funding, so relies heavily on donations and fundraising. As well as hosting her own events, those she has supported often step in and host events, including a recent fundraiser organised by Paul Webb and Clare Brooks in memory of their son Rocky, which raised £13,000.
And last year she was left gobsmacked when TikTok influencer, Joel Redhead and pal Shane Cole contacted her to say they wanted to help, after Sam had cared for a family member who had been through baby loss. They hoped to raise £5,000 – but the end total was an astonishing £115,000, enough to fund the permanent base for the charity.
A long list of businesses also stepped forward to offer tools, materials and their time to transform the hub, based in Welton Road, Brough. With the final touches now in place, Sam will welcome the first families to an opening day event on Sunday, April 19.
She said: “Joel Redhead’s fundraiser changed everything for the charity. It’s meant we can do things that we never imagined and I think it’s the first and only standalone infertility and baby loss support hub in England.
“There’s a barrier in that you have to go searching for help when you lose a baby or you’re struggling to have a family. And I feel like people don’t need to search anymore because it’s in Brough, it’s right here. It’s really a very, very gentle, fragile space, and people put so much trust in me to hold them in that space and to feel safe, and I feel so privileged that is my job now, and that I have the opportunity to create a legacy for their babies.
“But I do have a bit of a fear now that we’ve taken this huge leap as I’ve always been a one-woman band.
She added: “We’ve secured the premises for three years, and now it’s really important that as a city we celebrate having this hub. And I hope that families and businesses will continue to support us because I just really want to ensure the longevity of our services.”
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