Bereavement suite opens for parents who've lost a baby

A cold cot and teddy at the new bereavement suite at Medway Maritime Hospital Credit: ITV

A bereavement suite for parents who have lost a baby has officially opened at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent.

There are more than 3,600 stillbirths every year in the UK. At the Medway Maritime hospital, 21 families lost a baby last year.

That loss can be even harder to bear, for parents recovering from the birth in a maternity ward, surrounded by the noise of crying babies.

That's why the charity Abigail's Footsteps has spent 3 years and £64,000 building rooms for bereaved parents - where they can spend time with their baby.

As charity co-founder David Ward explains:

Abigail Bracken's report opens with footage of the film 'The Deafening Silence' by White Boat TV Productions and Abigail's Footsteps. There's an interview with Baroness Astor of Hever, and also the Head of Midwifery at the Medway Maritime Hospital, Dot Smith.